August, 1908. 



American "Bee Journal^ 



249 



right. The tree was cut Saturday night. I 

 gave the qucL-n Monday about 10:30. 



If any one has not the nerve to risk a 

 queen or is afraid of losing her, I would 

 not advise him to try it unless he keeps the 

 bees out in front of the hive a pood while, 

 and watches her pretty closely. But queens 

 are easy to rear, even for an amateur like 

 me. I have been keeping bees only one year 

 this June. I began with one colony last June. 

 I now have 9. I have doubled up several 

 and prevented swarming to a great extent, be- 

 cause I did not want too many colonies. I 

 have not room. I will try to winter about 

 IS colonies, then double up in the spring to 

 get the fruit-bloom. I do not have any white 

 clover. After fruit comes potato, that lasts 

 about 2 to 3 weeks. Then there is honey 

 coming in slowly until smart weed. I have 

 a ready sale for all my honey. I could sell 

 more. I get 15 cents for it at home. I do 

 not have to take it down to the merchant and 

 get the worth of it in trade. 



Kuttawa, Ky., July 20. L. S. Dickson. 



Troublesome Swarm — Good Honey- 

 Flow. 



June 16 a swarm issued from a colony on 

 which I had a queen-trap. The hive was 

 moved to one side and an empty one put in 

 its place, and the trap with the queen put on. 

 The swarm returned. I saw the queen run 

 in, but left the trap on the hive. The next 

 day they came out again. After they returned 

 I examined the trap and saw the queen with 

 about 18 bees circled around her. I jjuffed in 

 a little smoke and she ran down into the 

 hive. I went to the parent hive and took 

 out a frame of brood and bees and gave it to 

 them. That did no good, for the next morn- 

 ing, June 18, they swarmed out again before 

 8 o'clock, but returned. I again smoked the 

 queen down out of the trap and took it off 

 about noon. Out they came again and clus- 

 tered. We hived them in a new location and 

 about half of them stayed, the rest going back 

 to the old hive. On June 20 a swarm issued 

 from another hive. - I put them in with this 

 troublesome one. They united all right. No 

 fighting. To-day I examined them, found the 

 brood-combs drawn about one-aalf down, but 

 no evidence of a queen — ne eggs nor brood. 



There has been a good honev-flow in this 

 section. J. T. Hillery. 



Columbus, Ohio, July 7. 



New Interest in Bee-Culture. 



There is new interest in oee-culture here 

 now. Many of the farmers are getting im- 

 proved hives, givine better care, and receiving 

 good pay for the care given. I think this is 

 a good location. I have some of the same 

 strain of bees that have been on this place for 

 40 years. How they ever managed to with- 

 stand the moths, in old box-hives, and with 

 absolutely no care until 3 years ago, is sur- 

 prising. I don't believe they were fed once 

 during that time. This proves that there has 

 not been a year in 40 but that they gathered 

 enough honey to live on. 



We have 2 honey-flows per year, that from 

 white clover from about April 15 to July, 

 and the fall flow from September i until frost. 

 The fall honey is very fine and thick. It is 

 from stickweed, heartsease, steelweed, golden- 

 rod, and marigold. It is a bright golden amber 

 color. The yield is about 60 nounds per col- 

 ony. 



My first swarm came out April 8. All my 

 neighbors complain that their swarms all ab- 

 sconded this year. 



There was the largest crop of white clover 

 this year I ever saw, but it seemed to yield 

 very little honey. A portion of the time the 

 bees were not working on it to any extent. 

 I think I have found two good things, 

 and will pass them around. One is a hive- 

 stand made as follows: Set 4 3-inch drain-tile 

 on end, letting them in the ground about 4 

 inches. These tile cost us one cent each. 



To stop robbing: place carbolized cloths 

 about the hive. They need not be very large. 

 A small piece near the entrance, also near any 

 crack where robbers are trying to enter, will 

 send them away. 



We like the American Bee Journal very 

 much. Charles M. Smith. 



Rogersvillc, Tenn., July 7. 



Unfavorable Year for Bees — 



Swarming. 

 This has been an unfavorable year for bee- 

 men. The clover season is over and not a 

 drop of honey in the supers. This is one 

 of the most unfavorable years for the bee- 



business I have experienced in 20 years. In 

 past years I have gotten a few hundred 

 pounds every season anyway, but this year 

 not a pound so far. In the spring condi- 

 tions looked very favorable, as the pastures 

 were covered with white clover — but no nec- 

 tar. I put the supers on the first of May, 

 and by the 1 5th of the month the working 

 bees commenced to kill the drones, and about 

 the last of June the killing of drones started a 

 second time. Since then I haven't seen a 

 single drone in the bee-yard. Last year I 

 was provoked at the amount of noise of the 

 drones, but next year I will certainly appre- 

 ciate their music. (No drones — no honey.) 

 If the bees should commence to work in 

 the supers the honey will not amount to very 

 much, as the foundation is more or less in- 

 jured. I will have to use the same sec- 

 tions next year, as I can not afford to discard 

 them for new ones, as 53 supers each con- 

 taining 56 sections, which in all is 2968 sec- 

 tions, are too many to throw away. Perhaps 



I will make a mistake in doing so, but I 

 will give it a trial. 



It isn't the bees' fault that they do not get 

 any honey, as they woi.. both early and late, 

 and there are no idlers among them. I do 

 not know if they have swarmed any this year, 

 as I have-not watched them very closely, as 

 this year's condition has lessened my interest 

 in them somwewliat, as I won't make any- 

 thing from the bees this year. I'll be satisfied 



II they gather enough honey to live on till 

 next spring. It would be a great deal worse 

 if I would have to feed them through the 

 winter. 



I notice that there are many inquiries as 

 to whether the queen comes out first or last 

 with the swarm. When the proper time comes 

 the queen comes out on the entrance, usually 

 in the forenoon, to see if tlie weather is suit- 

 able for swarming, making a few circles 

 around and entering the hive again, then all 

 the bees on the outside as well as on the 

 inside turn their heads in the direction of 

 the queen, showing that they are well aware 

 that she is about ready to start, and then she 

 gives two or three shrill notes ("peep-peep"), 

 and starts for the entrance, when an the bees 

 of her swarm are in an instant ready and 

 coming as though life depended upon it. The 

 bees that were on the outside of the hive are 

 the first to leave, and then the queen ; then 

 the whole swarm follows as fast as they can 

 get out. The queen is very quick in her 

 actions; therefore, when all is ready and she 

 has given the command to start, she is off 

 in an instant, and flies straight up into the 

 air about 20 feet, in company with those 

 that were on the outside of the hive, circling 

 around till the whole swarm is in a body, 

 when they all follow the guides that have been 

 looking around before swarming-day for a 

 suitable place for a home. 



Monett, Mo., July 23. A. G. Erickson. 



"The Honey-Money Stories." 



This is a 64-page-and-cover booklet, 5^x8^^ 

 inches in size, printed on enameled paper. 

 The cover has a picture of a section of comb 

 honey, s'/z inches square, the comb being 

 in gold-bronze, which gives it a very attrac- 

 tive appearance. Then on the gold-bronze 

 comb are printed these words: "From Honey 

 to Health, and from Health to Money." 



It contains a variety of short, bright stories 

 interspersed with facts and interesting items 

 about honey and its use. The manufactured 

 comb honey misrepresentation is contradicted 

 in two items, each occupying a full page, 

 but in different parts of the booklet. It has 

 in all 31 halftone illustrations, nearly all of 

 them being of apiaries or apiarian scenes. 

 It also contains 3 bee-songs, namely, "The 

 Hum of the Bees in the Apple-lree Bloom," 

 "Buckwheat Cakes and Honey," and "The 

 Bee - Keeper's Lullaby." The songs alone 

 ought to be worth more than the price of 

 the booklet. 



It should be placed in the hands of every- 

 body not familiar with the food-value of 

 honey, for its main object is to interest people 

 in honey as a daily table article. The stories 

 and items are all so short and helpful, and 

 the pictures so beautiful, that it likely will 

 be kept by any one who is so fortunate as to 

 get a copy of it. Its postpaid price is only 

 25 cents, but the health- value of its contents 

 would run up into dollars. 



We believe it would be a great help to 

 create a more general demand for honey. 

 Its retail price is 25 cents, but we will mail 

 a single copy as a sample for only 10 cents; 

 5 copies for 75 cents: or 10 copies for $1.25. 

 With the American Bee Journal one year — 

 both for 60 cents. Send all orders to George 

 VV. York & Co., 118 W. Jackson, Chicago, 

 111. 



Buckwheat and Honey. 



Behold! a field of vivid green, 



All powdered thick with snow. 

 And yielding tributes of perfume 



To all tne winds that blow, 

 While every flower of purest white 



That trembles in tne breeze 

 Is bending with the golden weight 



Of busy honey-bees. 



For while the buckwheat grows apace 



In summer sun and showers 

 To furnish forth the breakfast dish 



We prize in wintry hours. 

 The bees are working overtime 



To garner for our sakes 

 The honey— Oh! delicious thought — 



To eat upon the cakes. 



— Minnie Irving 



Books for Bee-Keepers 



Every bee-keeper should have a bee- 

 book besides a bee-paper. On another 

 page will be found all the best books 

 offered — either at a price, postpaid, or as 

 a premium. If you can not earn them 

 as premiums for getting new subscrip- 

 tions, it will pay you well to purchase 

 one or more of them. You will find 

 them of great value. There are so many 

 things in the books that are needful to 

 know, and that of course could not be 

 told over and over again in the bee- 

 papers. If a bee-keeper can afford only 

 one. it would better be the book rath- 

 er than the paper. But now that the 

 American Bee Journal is only 50 cents . 

 a year, of course, no becrkeeper, how- 

 ever limited his apiary may be, can af- 

 ford to be without its monthly visits. 



hohey^eJeeswax 



When consigning, buying, 

 or selling, consult 



R. A. BURNETT & CO. 



199 South Water St. Chicago, III 



ilrnilnn Bee Jonmal when wrltlnc 



Choice 

 Queens 

 Only 



ITALIANS and 

 CARNIOLANS 



1 Untested, 75c: 12, 

 $7.50. 1 Tested. $1.00; 

 12. $11.00. 1 Selected 

 or Breeder. $2.00 to 

 $3.00. 



Nuclei, Full Colonies or Bees by the 

 pound. Write for prices. State quan- 

 tity wanted. 



CHAS. KOEPPEN 



Fredericksburg. Virginia 



The American Institute 

 of Phrenology 



Incorporated 1866, by special act of the 

 New York Legislature, will open its 

 next session the first Wednesday in Sep- 

 tember. The subjects embraced: Phren- 

 ology, Physiognomy, Ethnology, Psy- 

 chology, Physiology, Anatomy, Hygiene 

 and Anthropology. For terms and par- 

 ticulars apply to M. H. Piercy, Sec, care 

 Fowler & Wells Co., 24 East 22d St.. 

 New York, N. Y. 



