February, 1908. 



American Hee JoarnaIj| 



except sometimes during the swarming 

 season." 



Upon which that man Hill thus com- 

 ments : 



"The reader's attention is especially 

 invited to the concluding paragraph, 

 where the energetic lady almost unas- 

 sisted, takes care of 500 colonies, which, 

 according to 'bee-keepers generally,' 

 should yield $15 a year each. This, 

 then, gives the lady an annual return 

 of $7,500. Who wouldn't harken to the 

 'Call of the Wild?'" 



He might about as well have said in 

 plain terms that he didn't believe that 

 an average of $15 a year could be netted 

 from each colony, and that 500 colonies 

 was rather an over-estimate as the num- 

 ber to be cared for by one individual, 

 except sometimes during the swarming 

 season, nor to make so much clear 

 from each one, but a woman — ■ 



The spirit of that editor is also shown 

 in another way. The writer says : 



"The limited space of this article will 

 not allow me to go into details of mar- 

 keting, size of packages and prices, but 

 I will gladly answer by letter all in- 

 quiries sent me on the subject." 



And then Mr. Hill doesn't give the 

 least hint as to the address of the lady, 

 well knowing that thousands of us sis- 

 ter^ will be just dying to get "details," 

 without which we may fall just a lit- 

 tle short of reaching that $7,500 a year. 

 Seriously, it is amazing that our 

 great dailies, with all the talent dis- 

 played in their conduct, should so often 

 print such stuff as they sometimes do 

 under the guise of information about 

 bees. All that seems necessary is for 

 some man — latterly oftener a woman — 

 to go and spend an hour or a few 

 hours interviewing a bee-keeper, that 

 being all the preparation necessary to 

 give information regarding the entire 

 business; or at least all except a few 

 details that the well-informed corre- 

 spondent will, upon inquiry, gladly an- 

 swer by mail. 



In most cases these reporters must 

 be 'prentice hands. What reporter of 

 real experience would solemnly give us 

 facts — statements that would allow the 

 plain deduction that there is a woman 

 who clears from her bees annually 

 $7,500? At least, if there be such a 

 woman, why not give her name and 

 place of abode? 



Perhaps, after all, it is well to print 

 such things, they are so amusing. Take 

 this: "Before extracting the honey a 

 preliminary puff of smoke is sent into 

 the hive." That is, before beginning to 

 turn the crank of the extractor, the 

 operator must each time run out and 

 send a preliminary puff of smoke into 

 the hive- Or, would it do to have a 

 hive in the extracting-room for the 

 express purpose of being puffed into, 

 thus saving travel? 



The picture accompanying this arti- 

 cle is fumiy, very funny. A lady stands 

 over a hive holding a comb in her hand, 

 the cover still on the hive, all but the 

 middle board, upon which Editor Hill 

 comments : "Note how the magic hand 

 of the fair apiarist simply rips the 

 ridge-board from a gable cover and ex- 

 tracts the brood-frame without even 

 removing the lid." 



A Woman Bbe-Keeper Who Makes $7500 a Year. 



Plainly, the bees in the case are of 

 the kind that do not sting, for the lady 

 operator is dressed as if about to make 

 a call, wearing a veil in up-to-date 

 style, the veil leaving bare the entire 

 neck and the back of the head. But a 



lady capable of clearing $7,500 a year 

 from her bees — why shouldn't she be 

 equal to the task of training them so 

 they would never think of stinging one 

 on the bare neck, or to show such dis- 

 respect as to get into one's back hair? 



louthern 

 'Ifteedom 



Conducted by LOUIS H. SCHOLL, New Braunfels, Tex. 



Three-Band Italians and Other Races 

 of Bees 



After trying all the leading races of 

 bees, the "good, old three-banded Ital- 

 ians" have proven themselves the best 

 all-purpose bee. They are industrious, 

 and are, as a usual thing, of a remark- 

 ably even temperament, so they can be 

 handled readily with little smoke. They 

 defend their homes remarkably well, 

 and especially against the wax-moth. 

 They are adapted to a greater variety 

 of conditions than any other race of 

 bees, hence they are the best bee for 

 the beginner to select. 



Caucasian Bees. 



The Caucasians received much atten- 

 tion and comment, some time past, 

 which has been dropping off somewhat. 

 They were tried by a great many per- 

 sons, but, as to being better than our 

 other races, definite proof is wanting. 

 They are. undoubtedly, very gentle 

 bees, in their purity, although some re- 

 ports to the contrary have been re- 

 ceived. Although adapted better to 

 colder climates than the Italians and 

 other Southern races, I doubt whether 

 they will prove themselves better as 

 all-purpose bees than the three-banded 

 Italians. 



Holy Land Bees. 



These bees have proven better in lo- 

 calities with more than one honey-flow, 

 on account of their constant alertness 

 and continuous breeding as long as 



there are sufficient stores m^ the hives. 

 The Italians lack in this, in that they 

 are excellent for one honey-flow when 

 they do their best, but after which they 

 slow down in breeding, clog the brood- 

 nest with stores for winter, and be- 

 come too weak for any flows later. 



Cyprian Bees. 



The Cyprian bees have been tried thor- 

 oughly enough. They are called "Cyp." 

 for short. This ought to have the same 

 meaning as "Zip," for that's the way 

 they go at the operator. In most re- 

 spects they resemble the Holy Lands, 

 only that the "Cyps " are still more nerv- 

 ous, and always easily aroused to bat- 

 tle, which makes them too "stingy" for 

 me. They are good comb-builders, and 

 great storers of surplus honey, capping 

 the combs rather whiter than Italians. 



This race of bees holds the highest 

 record of honey stored by one colony, 

 nearly a thousand pounds in a single 

 season. However, I believe that the 

 Italians can, by proper and careful 

 breeding, be brought up to a strain that 

 can not be excelled by any other, as an 

 all-purpose bee. 



Cotton as a Honey-Plant 



The great plantations of cotton in 

 the Brazos River valleys furnish _ a 

 source for a good number of apiaries. 

 The yield is quite certain every year, 

 beginning in July and lasting until frost 



