March, 1913. 



American Hee Journal 



hatching of the virgin. At any rate. I have 

 hadsome excellent queens after such con- 

 finement. But I should expect a poor queen 

 from a cell caged immediately after being 

 sealed. 



2. You will probably find that in flush 

 years, when honey comes in rapidly, combs 

 will be filled out more plumply than in a 



slow flow, perhaps because in a slow flow 

 the bees have more time to build wax and 

 seal combs. You will also find that they 

 will fill combs more plumply if crowded for 

 room. Like enough you gave the bees more 

 surplus room than your neighbors did. 

 Taking one year with another, you are prob- 

 ably the gainer by it. 



Good Results Last Year 



I did very well last year. With 14 colonies 

 I increased to 10. and took off^ 610 pounds of 

 honey, leaving over a super on each hive, as 

 I came near losing many by starvation last 

 spring. W. Ulmer NfooRE. 



Lott, Tex., Feb. q. 



Bitter Honey 



Some 6 or 8 years ago all of our honey was 

 bitter, f noticed at the same time that 

 there was honeydew on the box-elder trees. 

 By rubbing the leaver of the box-elder on 

 my tongue I noticed the same bitter taste 

 that was in the honey. I saw the bees suck- 

 ing the leaves of the box-elder. I have not 

 had any bitter honey since. 



A. M. Broyles. 



Rhea Springs. Tenn., Jan. lo. 



Keep Weeds Down Around Hives 



To keep weeds down in front of and 

 around hives. I find nothing more satisfac- 

 tory than common roofing felt (" rubber roof- 

 ing." as it is sometimes called). Cut in 4- 



foot lengths (or longer, if desired', place 

 upon the ground, long way north and south, 

 putting the hive in the center near the north 

 end. It will keep the weeds down, make it 

 easy to see the clipped queen at swarming 

 time, keep the hives off the ground, and lasts 

 for years. Try this where cinders are not 

 easily obtained. Stones at the southwest 

 and southeast corners will keep it from be- 

 ing blown up. George F.Webster. 

 Sioux Falls. S. Dak. 



Missouri a Leading Honey State 



According to the last census report, Mis- 

 souri has 40.110 persons keeping bees in the 

 State, but as no statistics were taken in 

 cities and towns, we should think the figures 

 should be 45.000 at the least: the number of 

 colonies were given as 2o3.=;t]0. The honey 

 gathered in one year would probably be 

 something over 6.000,000 pounds, valued at 

 about $8oo.uoo. and taking that with the value 

 of the bees, it would amount to about 

 ♦ I. 500. 000. 



According to the report, there is about 

 one in twenty farmers who keep bees. Mis- 

 souri is ranked second in the number of 

 colonies, but fourth in the amount of honey 

 obtained. As some of the other States have 

 large numbers of up-to-date bee-keepers, 

 and as Missouri has so many farmers keep- 

 ing bees that do not use modern methods, 

 we think that our State makes a most re- 

 markable record, and shows that it is 

 adapted to bee-keeping. We have some ex- 

 tensive bee keepers in the State, but the 

 most of the bees are kept in small numbers 



in a yard, throughout the State. Texas is 

 rated as first in bee-keeping, but as Texas 

 is about four times as large as Missouri, we 

 think our State makes the best record com- 

 paratively. 



By the way. we wish to speak of what is 

 really a text-book on bee-keeping, sent to us 

 from Texas by Louis H. Scholl. It surely 

 fills the bill so far as we have had time to 

 examine it, and the State of Texas is to be 

 congratulated in having this fine work, and 

 I am sure many of theother States would do 

 well to follow Texas in her example. We 

 have before us a bulletin issued bv our own 

 State in 1005. which doubtless has done 

 much good for bee-keeping 



We now have a bill introduced into the 

 House of our Legislature, asking for some 

 changes in our foul brood law. We hope to 

 get it into a law 



piopi laiiuu lor inis worK in our state has 

 been too small to pay for what is needed. If 

 the amendment asked for is passed, we 

 hope to have better and inore up-to-date 

 bee-keepers in our State than we now have. 

 Mexico. Mo, J. W. Rouse. 



Bees Wintering Well in Iowa 



Bees are in fine condition here, and good 

 prospect for white clover next season. I 

 opened a hive today, packed on the summer 

 stand, and found sealed brood 4 inches 

 across, with a circle of eggs and larva? more 

 than an inch wide around it. They have 

 quite a quantity of sealed honey in the hive. 

 I look for a strong colony in this hive when 

 fruit blossoms come. J. L. Strong. 



Clarinda, Iowa. Jan. 2s. 



Managing Weak Colonies 



Last spring I had some weak colonies. 

 What was I to do with them? I got my Bee 

 Journal and found out how to manage weak 

 colonies. Last summer I obtained 1505 

 pounds from 37 colonies; in loop I obtained 

 3500 pounds. This year I sold my crop for 17 

 cents per pound. I have an order filed here 



in my office for ,3000 pounds at 17 cents, but I 

 can not fill it. 



Not any kind of honey sells under 10 cents 

 here. I produce bulk comb honey, or chunk 

 honey as you please to call it. 



1 certainly do enjoy reading the different 

 opinions of my brother bee-keepers on the 

 kind of honey to produce for the most profit. 



Galax. Va.. Dec. 26, 1012. G. F.Jones. 



Wintering— Producing the Crop — Tin 

 Separators 



I wintered 25 colonies, increased them to 

 17. and produced 400 pounds of Spanish- 

 needle honey. The weakest colonies I win- 

 ter in a concrete cellar under my dwelling 

 house. The temperature is from 45 to 52 

 degrees. I never lost any in the cellar. The 

 strong ones I winter out-of-doors, with shav- 

 ings on top. and a telescope hood placed 

 over them. Last winter was very cold, and 

 below zero quite often. I lost one-third of 

 those I had out-of-doors. 



Before swarming I confine the queen un- 

 der an excluder with one frame of brood, 

 and the rest drawn-out combs. The rest of 

 the brood in the upper story, and on this 

 supers are used. I extract the honey in the 

 fall at the end of the crop. 



With a double brood-chamber I found 

 after the harvest that the upper story 

 had the most honey, and the lower story 

 with the queen and brood had not stores 

 enough to carry them through the winter. I 

 have exchanged frames, but that is a mean 

 job. for as a rule bees are generally cross 

 when bothered after the harvest. I am 

 thinking of exchanging stories after the 

 young bees are all hatched. Can any ex- 

 perienced bee-keeper give light on this 

 question ? 



I rear all of my queens. I fix up my supers 

 with starters in the winter. I use tin sep- 

 arators the full height of the section-holders. 

 They are moreexpensivethan wooden ones, 

 but in the long run they are the cheapest. 

 To clean them. I put an old wash-boiler on 

 the stove, throw them all in, and let them 

 cook thoroughly, then let them remain until 

 the water is cold. The wax comes 10 the 

 top. Wm. Sass. 



Concordia. Mo.. Jan. 29. 



Knife and Journal Pleases 



I am very well pleased with the bee-keep- 

 ers' knife you sent me some time ago. It 

 seems to me the American Bee Journal is 

 getting better right along. I could not do 

 without it. 



In the last number of this Journal I men- 

 tioned a crop of 3200 pounds of honey from 

 52 colonies. A misprint caused me to say 

 200 pounds from my bees in 1012. 



G. A. Barbisch. 



La Crescent. Minn.. Feb. 11. 



Caucasian Bees All Right 



The Caucasian bees are all right in my 

 estimation. They are good, early brood- 

 rearers. I had swarms May 8. They seal their 



Ira Walton and a Portion of His Caucasian Apiary. 



