414 



December, 1913. 



American l^ee Journal 



sold, and imagine my surprise to find 

 on going there one day the last of 

 April, that all but 2 of the 26 colonies 

 left were dead, while the one I had 

 disturbed "nigh unto death " was One 

 of the best colonies I had ; it gave a 

 good swarm that year and stored 120 

 pounds of " box honey." 



After our great loss of bees during 

 one winter in the latter 8<»'s, a winter 

 extremely cold and long drawn out, 

 the claim was made that the bees 

 " froze to death.'' I did not believe it, 

 but claimed that no chance to fly dur- 

 ing 5 months of "long confinement" 

 was the cause. The argument "waxed 

 so hot "that one afternoon the next 

 winter, when the mercury stood at 12 

 degrees below zero, 1 took a colony of 

 bees, and with cover and bottom-board 

 removed, suspended the hive a foot 

 above the ground, leaving it thus for 

 36 hours, during which time the mer- 

 cury got as low as 23 degrees below. 

 This colony was then put on its old 

 stand again, and came out in May fully 



equal to any of its fellows, which had 

 no disturbance above the usual winter's 

 elements. 



In conclusion, allow me to say that 

 if there is anything in this article that 

 would seem to show that the disturb- 

 ing of bees in winter does no harm, I 

 protest in advance against the assump- 

 tion that I advise such disturbance. I 

 do not so advise except where some 

 gain is expected to be made. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



a climate that would benefit him, and 

 he has met with many adventures such 

 as fall to the lot of few men. Detective, 

 photographer, chemist, assayer mining 

 expert, explorer, lecturer, editor; all 



Beekeepers I Have Known— 

 "Dr. A. F. Bonney" 



BV FRANK C. PELLETT. 



THERE are no words in my vocab- 

 ulary to adequately describe Dr. 

 Bonney, of Buck Grove, Iowa, 

 for he is undoubtedly the most 

 unique character among Iowa 

 beekeepers. Because of ill-health he 

 was for years a wanderer in search of 



Tliere Are iuo 

 ^\)ii3rf3 you sVjoalA. 



lV)o5e.you. tftN 



you ca.»j''t"^ Ihi-ty 



Sample of the Post-Card Dr. Bonney Uses. 



A F. BONNEV AT 27 



these he has been and more in addition 

 to his regular profession, that of a 

 physician, and now he is rounding out 

 an eventful life as a beekeeper in a 

 quiet little town in western Iowa. 



Dr. Bonney has unlimited resources 

 as an entertainer. His gift of ventrilo- 

 quism led the Indians to call him "The 

 man of two voices," and he has many 

 times mystified his friends by his feats 

 of sleight of hand. He was a resident 

 of the southwest in the old days when 

 every man carried a six shooter to 

 serve as a lawyer, judge and jury in the 

 settlement of disputes. The old habits 

 unconsciously manifest themselves at 

 times. For instance, in any company 

 he will take such a position that no 

 one can approach him from behind. 

 His adventures in Old Mexico and the 

 southwest would fill a book, and his 

 stories fairly bristle with thrills. It is 

 said of him that he had frequently to 

 change his sleeping place in the days 

 when he edited a socialist paper in a 

 little town in Arizona, because of the 

 fact the enemies frequently shot 

 through the rooms where he was sup- 

 posed to be sleeping. On one occasion 

 he proposed to a gun man, who had a 

 grudge against him, that they shoot at 

 a mark, and the poorest marksman 

 leave the town forever. Dr. Bonney 

 won and the other fellow handed over 

 his gun and left the place according to 

 agreement. 



Dr. Bonney is constantly starting 

 something among the bee men, either 



THE BEEWARE BRAND 



MEANS SUCCESS 

 INSURANCE 



Send for Annual Catnlos iThloh will telL 

 you who is your nearest Distributer. 

 G. B. Lewis Company. \Vntortown. Wis. 



