December, 1908. 



American Hee Journal 



coml)S, when used as "baits," are better 

 to him than money in the bank. 



After the honey is extracted, these sec- 

 tions are to be put in the center of the 

 super (one super for each colony you 

 expect to work for section honey the 

 next season), so as to secure an early 

 commencement of work by the bees in 

 the sections, which is of great advantage. 

 Fill the rest of the super with sections 

 having starters in them, or those which 

 IiaVe been filled with extra-thin comb 

 foundation, as you may elect, when you 

 will pack the same nicely away, one after 

 another, as thev are thus gotten ready, 

 so that they will be ready for use at a 

 moment's notice next June when the 

 honey harvest arrives. 



If you do not have material enough 

 for what sections you expect to need, 

 this should be procured and made up, so 

 that all which pertains to the surplus 

 section honey shall be in readiness also. 

 To arrive at the number we wish, I have, 

 for years, allowed 150 one-pound sec- 

 tions for each colony in the spring to lie 

 worked for comb honey, and find the es- 

 timate not far out of the way. Of 

 course, there are only a few years when 

 I need that many; but if I was not pre- 

 pared for the best yields when they 

 come, I should lose much those years, 

 and it is far better to carry over some 

 empty sections in medium or poor years, 

 than not to have the "dishes right side 

 up when the honey was pouring down." 

 Don't put this matter oflf as many seem 

 prone to do till the harvest arrives, for 

 if put off till then, the results almost al- 

 ways show a greater or less loss. 



As soon as these supers are all ready 

 for the ne.xt season, we go at the hives 

 ne.xt, repairing and looking over all that 

 are not occupied with the bees, and fix- 

 ing them in perfect order, when they are 

 packed away as were the supers. If any 

 new ones are needed they are made, as 

 well as the frames, covers, bottom- 

 boards, stands, alighting-boards, en- 

 trance-blocks, and all that pertains to 

 them, and the frames wired and filled 

 with comb foundation, or with starter.^, 

 just as we have elected to do. 



If we decide to use starters, a strip of 

 foundation ^4 of an inch wide is better 

 than either more or less, as F have prov- 

 en to my satisfaction, after year? of tx- 

 perimenting, along the line of starters 

 for brood-frames. To fasten this start- 

 er to the frame, get out a board wliirh 

 is the size of the inside of the frame and 

 only half as thick, which is to be fasten- 

 ed to another board a little longer, arid 

 having a handle to 't, .-o tiiat the whole 

 can be easily held in the left hand. Now 

 lay the frame on the thin board and then 

 place the strip of foundation on it. and 

 next to the top-bar to the frame. If all 

 has been made as it should be the strip 

 of foundation will come in the center of 

 the top-bar to the frame. Now tip the 

 board at such an angle that the top-bar of 

 the frame and the strip of foundation 

 will form a V-shaped trough, which is to 

 be so inclined that when the melted wax is 

 poured in at the upper end it will im- 

 mediately run down to the lower end, 

 which (melted wax) in passing along 

 adheres to both the frame and founda- 

 tion, thus fastening the strip of founda- 

 tion to the frame securely. Some of the 

 foundation-fasteners may be a little 



quicker, but nothing I have tried gives 

 the assurance of "staying qualities" 

 which this does, and "quicker" is often 

 worse than nothing, where the work has 

 to be done over again, or allows a small 

 part of the starters to fall off, thus mak- 

 ing a "mess" of all the rest of the combs 

 in the hive. 



• After the hives and frames are nicely 

 ready and packed away for the next sea- 

 son, we next get out the material for 

 shipping-cases and make them, being 

 as liberal with these as we were with 

 the sections, so that no "down pour" of 

 honey will find us "napping" when we 

 wish to prepare the same for market. 



Then, we need a few introducing cag- 

 es for queens, fuel for the smoker, our 

 bee-hat and veil all in "apple pie" order, 

 and any and all of the things which we 

 are likely to want during the working 

 season with the bees, should all be in 

 readiness and just where we can put our 

 hands on them at the time we want them, 

 when the season for their use arrives. 



In this way the wintry days are passed 

 as pleasantly and as profitably as are 

 those of the summer, and when spring 

 opens we shall have nothing to do but 

 give our whole attention to the bees. 

 Thus we are "driving" our work, so that 

 it seems only play to us all the while. 

 To be unprepared when the harvest 

 comes, is having our work drive us all 

 the while, in which case there is only 

 work about the whole thing, and often 

 quite unprofitable work at that. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



A Demand for More Honey 



BY DR, M. E. MCMANES. 



Apicultural literature abounds in advice 

 and suggestions on the proper care and 

 management of bees to secure both 

 quantity and quality of honey, but seems 

 to be very weak on advice and sugges- 

 tions for the disposal of the crop to the 

 best advantage. 



It is true we can easily sell our honey 

 if we are willing to dispose of it for a 

 very low price, but its commercial value 

 as a food I believe to be considerably 

 more than. 8 or 10 cents a pound — the 

 price most producers receive. 



Honey is considered a luxury by many, 

 but in my opinion, based on the medici- 

 nal and food value, honey is as much a 

 necessity as sugar, and rightfully de- 

 serves to replace a large share of the 

 consumption of that product. If we 

 can increase its consumption we create 

 more demand, and naturally can get bet- 

 ter prices. But the question has been, 

 "How shall we inform the general public 

 of the true food and medicinal value of 

 honey?" 



There are two classes of professional 

 men who by a few words can do more 

 to create a demand for honey than all 

 other kinds of advetrising. I refer to 

 physicians and ministers of the Gospel. 

 One w'ould be surprised to know how 

 little the majority of physicians know 

 about honey either as a food or medici- 

 nally, to say nothing of its production. 

 Medical books and journals contain but 

 little on the subject, and when some of 

 the laity suggest honey for medicine the 

 idea is often scoffed at by the doctor. 



yet there are very few cases of illness 

 that honey would not benefit. 



To reach this class would be easy and 

 inexpensive. I would suggest that our 

 scientific writers prepare papers on the 

 food value as well as analytical demon- 

 strations of honey, and through the Na- 

 tional Bee-Keepers' Association have 

 these published in the various medical 

 journals. When well written they will 

 be gladly accepted by the journals, and 

 will reach thousands of physicians who 

 by a word here and there will create 

 more demand for honey than can be ob- 

 tained by any other means of advertis- 

 ing. 



One point especially that could be 

 brought out is the advantage of honey 

 as a vehicle or adjuvant for carrying 

 other medicines. At present, syrup, aro- 

 matic elixirs, alcohol and glycerine are 

 used, but these are more expensive and 

 have little or no medicinal value. For 

 children or invalids, where sugar is de- 

 nied, honey proves highly beneficial. 



The second class, ministers of the 

 Gospel, would prove nearly equal to 

 physicians in creating a demand for hon- 

 ey if their attention were properly called 

 to it. They being mostly of a philan- 

 thropic disposition do not hesitate to 

 • recommend to an ailing parishioner any- 

 thing they conscientiously can. Since 

 their duty calls them among their friends, 

 both well and sick, they could do con- 

 siderable in this line. 



They also could be reached without 

 expense by well and properly written ar- 

 ticles placed in their religious papers. 

 It is well known that advice from one's 

 physician or minister goes further than 

 from any other source. 



I would suggest that this be done 

 through the National Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation, that the articles may be prop- 

 erly selected and placed. The sending 

 of a large number of articles direct to 

 the magazines by the writer would have 

 more of an injurious rather than benefi- 

 cial effect. Then, the best articles could 

 be sent one to each of the larger medi- 

 cal journals and religious papers. 



Piqua, Ohio. 



"The Honey-Money Stories" 



This is a 64-page and cover book- 

 let SJ^ by SVi inches in size. Printed 

 on enameled paper. It contains a variety 

 of short, bright stories, mixed with facts 

 and interesting items about honey and 

 its use. It has 31 half-tone pictures, 

 mostly of apiaries or apiarian scenes. 

 It has 3 bee-songs, namely: "The Hum 

 of the Bees in the Apple-Tree Bloom," 

 "Buckwheat Cakes and Honey," and 

 "The Bee-Keeper's Lullaby." It ought 

 to be in the hands of every one not 

 familiar with the food value of honey. 

 Its object is to create a larger demand 

 for honey. It is sent postpaid for 25 

 cents, but we will mail a single copy as a 

 sample for 15 cents, S copies for 60 

 cents, or 10 .copies for $i.oo. A copy 

 with the American Bee Journal one year 

 — both for 80 cents. Send all orders to 

 George W. York & Co., 118 W. Jackson, 

 Chicago, 111. 



