May, 1908. 



American l^ee Journal 



the new comers, and in a few hours 

 these sheets of foundation will be drawn 

 out into combs, all true and perfect, and 

 with very little honey stored in them." — 

 Bee-Keepers' Review. 



Longevity Among Bees 



C. P. Dadant says that if bees are 

 unusually long-lived it's because they are 

 lazy. I don't want to believe that if I 

 can help it. Of course, there's no de- 

 nying that bees live longer when idle 

 than when working hard, and so it may 

 be that some colonies have a longer 

 lease of life just because each worker 

 takes life easy. But that does not con- 

 flict with the possibility that there may 

 be such a thing as a colony whose work- 



ers live longer than the average, while 

 at the same time working just as hard 

 as the average. And in consideration 

 of the fact that the average life of a 

 bee as a tielder is 26 days or less, the 

 addition of a single day to its gathering 

 career is an important item ; for I take 

 it for granted that the added day would 

 be on the fieldini; end. 



Now, what could I afford to pay for a 

 queen which would result in that added 

 day for a whole apiary? 



Suppose one has an average crop of 

 10,000 lbs. annually, at 15 cts a pound, 

 bringing $1500. One twenty-sixth of 

 that is $57.00. A queen that would bring 

 that annual increase would be cheap at 

 $50.00 — yes, at $100. — Stray Straw in 

 Gleanings in Bee Culture. 



Dur 



Conducted by E.MMA JI. WILSON. Marenao, 111. 



Getting Increase and Honey. 



Last July I purchased a 3-frame nu- 

 cleus of Italian bees, and an Italian test- 

 ed queen to go with them. A neighbor 

 who is an experienced bee-man taught 

 me how to introduce the queen, and to 

 build up the colony. I fed sugar syrup 

 until he assured me they had plenty. 

 They have 3 full frames at this date of 

 writing (April 8), and are bringing in 

 pollen in a hustling manner. Now cir- 

 cumstances as well as inclination have 

 started me in bees. I hope to make my 

 living and a little over. I have pur- 

 chased 6 colonies to be delivered in late 

 April or early May, and have put to- 

 gether and painted six 2-story hive- 

 stands and 12 complete hives with brood- 

 frahies and sections fixed with founda- 

 tion. I have purchased "A B C and 

 X Y Z of Bee Culture," have subscribed 

 to 3 bee-papers, and have read them 

 over and over all winter, and have now 

 ordered "Forty \ears Among the Bees." 

 Now, I can not find in any of them 

 directions for putting up an inexpensive 

 honey-house, and lumber being so high 

 the strain is beginning to tell on my 

 pocket. 



Could I put up a frame good and 

 strong and cover it with Paroid roof- 

 ing, and paint it white? Having the 

 foundation protected by wire-screen to 

 keep out rats, would such a house be 

 safe in which to store sections and 

 brood-combs ? 



I have 2 rims with wire sides in which 

 I have planted vines acceptable to bees, 

 and I hope to build up carefully until 

 I have 100 colonics. How can I in- 

 crease the quickest and safest, at the 

 same time getting honey? By using 

 some colonies simply for increase? 



Helen M. Ferrie. 



Hackettstown, N. J. 



So far as concerns a building in which 



to store sections and brood-combs, you 

 can probably have nothing better than 

 one with walls and roof covered with 

 Paroid roofing. Of course, there must 

 be sheathing on which the Paroid is 

 fastened, but this can be of very cheap 

 material. Whether to paint it white is 

 a question. It would look better, but is 

 probably not needed to add durability, 

 and if you ever store honey in it the 

 darker the color of the outside the bet- 

 ter. Mr. G. M. Doolittle, if I am not 

 mistaken, advises black, so tliat the heat 

 of the sun may have its effect in the 

 better ripening of the honey. 



How to increase the quickest and saf- 

 est, at the same time getting honey, is 

 as the Scotch say, a kittle question. It's 

 a little like making iiivestments. The 

 callow youth plunges into any sort of a 

 get - rich - quick scheme promising to 

 double his money in a year, and loses all 

 he has; the experienced financier is well 

 satisfied with an annual return of 5 or 6 

 percent, counting safety the element of 

 greatest importance. So it is with in- 

 creasing bees. One may make a very 

 big increase, and then find all dead the 

 following spring. Remember, you are 

 largely at the mercy of the season. One 

 year you may safely make a large in- 

 crease, there being a fine flow of honey 

 from early till late, while the next season 

 may be so poor that you will do well to 

 hold your own without making any in- 

 crease. Of course, you can help out by 

 feeding, but nothing equals a natural 

 flow. 



As you say you have ordered "Forty 

 Years among the Bees," I am going to 

 ask that an answer in this department 

 to your question be delayed until you 

 have read in that book what is said 

 about increase, beginning at page 252. 

 You will there find the subject treated 

 in a fuller manner, probably, than in any 



other work published. You will find 

 your question answered more fully than 

 it could be answered in this department, 

 and yet it is not at all improbable that 

 there will still be questions left unan- 

 swered, and please don't hesitate to send 

 them on. It will be a pleasure to answer 

 them. 



Almond Paste. 



Formula for almond paste : Seven 

 ounces of bitter almonds, i}i ounces of 

 orris root, 1-34 ounces of powdered cas- 

 tile soap, s'/i ounces of glycerite of 

 starch, 2 ounces of clarified honey, one 

 dram of oil of lavender flowers, 2 drams 

 of oil of bergamot, 8 drops of oil of bit- 

 ter almonds. Blanch the almonds, heat 

 them with a small quantity of water to 

 a smooth paste, add the other ingred- 

 ients and mix intimately. — Chicago Rec- 

 ord-Herald. 



Honey Lotion for Chapped Skin. 



Lena. — Here is a recipe which was 

 popular in England many years ago : 

 Melt 4 ounces of honey and 2 ounces 

 of yellow wax which are put into 6 

 ounces of rose-water in a double boiler 

 until they become well blended ; then, 

 while still hot, add one ounce of myrrh. 

 Before going to bed apply this thickly to 

 the skin. This is helpful when the skin 

 is chapped. — Dr. Emma E. Walker, in 

 Ladies Home Journal. 



All E.\-Stenographer's Success with 

 Bees, Poultry, aud Fruit. 



Under the above heading appears in 

 the Circle an article written by our 

 bright friend. Miss Frances E. Wheeler. 

 The article is especially to be commend- 

 ed for its moderate tone. While encour- 

 aging to many a sister who may be left 

 to her own resources, it does not mis- 

 lead by setting forth bee-keeping as a 

 gold-mine. The following portion of the 

 article is especially interesting to the sis- 

 ters of this department : 



"I left New York and stenography be- 

 cause my hands gave out, and retired to 

 recuperate in our little home at the head 

 of Lake Champlain, where circumstances 

 eventually developed that left mother 

 and myself alone. I decided that it was 

 worth while to try to make a living 

 there, and keep the home rather than 

 give it up and return with her to the 

 city. We had a very nice apiary con- 

 sisting of about 50 colonies of bees, a 

 good honey-house, and a complete outfit 

 for handling and increasing the output 

 when desirable; also bee-literature ga- 

 lore, which during the winter I studied 

 faithfully. 



"As time went on, one season follow- 

 ing another. I began to understand the 

 business ; the work became increasingly 

 interesting, and the outlook encouraging. 

 Of course, this point was not reached 

 without many mistakes being made, some 

 losses suffered, much hard work and 

 many disappointments. The chief diffi- 

 culty met in each department of our 

 business has been, and is, efficient and 

 reliable help. With the bees, it soon be- 

 came apparent that, to have assistance 

 when needed, some other industry must 

 be combined with it to justify the steady 

 employment of a man and insure his 



