American IB^eJonrnal 



E\R Western ^ Bee-I^eping 



Conducted by Wesley Foster, Boulder, Colo. 



Companionable Bee-Folks 



Mr. Eugene Secor tells us on the first 

 page of the January issue that bee-keepers 

 are the most companionable of folks; 

 now I have found this true of most farm 

 ers and rural people generally, and it is 

 especially true of bee-keepers. 



The reasons for bee-men being com- 

 panionable, I think, can partly be ex- 

 plained by the fact that bees appeal only 

 to those who are lovers of the outdoors, 

 flowers, and the sweet things that grow in 

 gardens. 



I suppose one reason why bee-keepers 

 become so interested in their work is 

 that there are so many novel and won- 

 derful things in a hive of bees. The 

 mighty stir that takes possession of the 

 bees when the first pollen and honey be- 

 gin to come in ; the care the nurse-bees 

 take of the brood; the swarming fever; 

 the building of new comb and filling it 

 with honey — all these things, in their vari- 

 ous influences on the crop the bee-keeper 

 will harvest, cause him to watch every de- 

 tail closely, and he feels an interest in 

 the procession of the seasons that makes 

 him an interesting conversationalist in al- 

 most any company. 



What We Know About Bees 



Science has been called "classified 

 knowledge," and this, I think, comes near 

 enough being correct for our purposes 

 here. So we should begin early in the 

 year to determine what we know about 

 bees and honey-production in our locali- 

 ties. If we know that our dozen or hun- 

 dreds of hives are well supplied with win- 

 ter stores, distributed around and above 

 the brood-nest or "winter nest," we should 

 be thankful. If our queens are all young 

 and vigorous, able to pitch right in and 

 do great things when the time comes, 

 we should feel quite satisfied with our 

 ability as bee-keepers. If our bees are 

 well provided with shelter in their winter 

 rest, either in the cellar, bunches, or on 

 the summer stands, there is not much that 

 can be done except watchfulness to see 

 that everything goes right. 



We know that bees eat less honey in 

 the cellar than outside, and we know, 

 here in the West, that in average years 

 a colony will winter better outdoors than 

 in a cellar. There are not always avc. 

 age years and I think this year is one 

 that is not an average one, so we are win- 

 tering about 100 colonies in our cellar un- 

 der the house. I wish we could get all 

 of our bees into the cellar, but there is 

 not room. The temperature ranges from 

 45 to 40 degrees, and the ventilation is 

 good. The bees came out a little when 

 any light could get in, but all the windows 

 have been darkened now, and we do not 

 look for any trouble for some time, any- 

 way. We know that a colony of bees with 

 40 to so pounds of honey, a good queen, 

 and a strong force of bees, can winter 

 outdoors, but not more than one in ten 

 of our colonics were in this condition last 

 fall. Most of our bees that are weak and 

 still on their summer stands, have been 

 set together in bunches of 4 — this is not 

 any gerat help, but the warmth is con 

 served a little, as will be shown by the 

 way the clusters move over close to the 

 center of the bunch, as far as their hive 



will permit. Then, another thing, is the 

 greater protection from the wind which 

 blows off the hive covers so pprsistently. 



I do not think I have enjoyed a finer 

 climate than that which we have here in 

 the Arid West, but the wind does blow 

 here very hard at times during the win- 

 ter; and these winds come right after a 

 snow in the mountaitxs,and so are a benefit 

 by drifting it into ravines and gulches. 

 Two weeks ago the wind blew for several 

 days, and when we went out to one of 

 our out yards there were 4 hives blown 

 all to pieces from being rolled over and 

 over, and the frames scattered and the 

 bees blown to the four winds. Since 

 bunching the hives together we have not 

 had many covers blown oft". 



We know that a normal colony of bees 

 in every way needs but little frame mani- 

 pulation, but the question is. Do we know 

 how to get all our colonies into this nor- 

 mal condition? We are all agreed that 

 the queen is of prime importance, so if 

 we get a strong, healthy queen introduced 

 where a poor one had been, a betterment is 

 effected. Now there may be too few bees 

 to give that queen a proper opportunity 

 to prove what she can do. so we know 

 that by giving that queen combs of sealed 

 or hatching brood she will soon have as- 

 sistance. 



Now as to what we know about the 

 value of stimulative feeding, there is con- 

 siderable question, for we are all agreed 

 that a colony with a good queen, and 

 plenty of bees and honey, will come up 

 for the honey harvest with a good gath- 

 ering force. 



AJl who have kept bees for several 

 years in the valleys of the West will 

 agree with me. that we have to hold our 

 bees back in the spring, for the weather 

 becomes so warm at times in March and 

 April that breeding commences, only to 

 be chilled later by a return of winter in 

 early May After May loth, however, we 



may encourage breeding by spreading 

 brood judiciously. 



Another thing we know here in the 

 West — though it does not occur in every 

 part of the West — is this: that we do 

 not have much trouble in preventing ex- 

 cessive swarming. In the 13 years of 

 bee-keeping here in Colorado, there has 

 been but one year when the swarming 

 fever got beyond our control. Generally, 

 by giving plenty of ventilation and super- 

 room, and cutting queen-cells once, the 

 bees give up the swarming notion and go 

 to work in earnest. What still persist in 

 building cells are divided, making two 

 colonies out of one that was buildimg 

 cells. 



If the time should come when by put- 

 ting a handful of bees in a hive, and in 

 a few weeks seeing this handful grow 

 into a fine colony, we might have a re- 

 turn of the wild swarming-fever some 

 people know. 



We know that what makes swarm con- 

 trol easy here is the slow flow, rarely 

 going above 5 pounds, and generally run- 

 ning about 3, if there is any flow at all. 

 When more alfalfa was grown, and it 

 was not cut so early, the bees would roll 

 in 5 pounds a day right along for week 

 after week, but that time has passed in 

 many parts of the West. 



At the Farmer's Congress held in Fort 

 Collins, the fact was brought out that al- 

 falfa was not making anywhere near the 

 growth that it used to do when the coun- 

 try was young. Farmers have labored 

 under the delusion that alfalfa built up 

 the soil in all its needed plant-food, while 

 the fact is that nitrogen is the only thing 

 that is fixed in the soil, and every ton 

 of hay hauled off the field takes off of 

 that soil, phosphorus, potash, etc., — plant- 

 foods that have to be put back by arti- 

 ficial means, — spreading manure, etc. 

 Farmers in the West have thought that 

 their land could not be exhausted, but 

 there is no land that will not give out if 

 the plant-food is not put back, which has 

 been taken oft" in crops. I would hazard 

 a guess that we would have too percent 

 better honey crops, and the farmers would, 

 100, by studying and supplying a balanced 

 ration for their alfalfa crop. Most of 

 the Western soils have lime enough, but 

 every farmer should know his own soil, 

 its constituents, and the various require- 

 ments of different crops. 



Bee-Keeping <^ For Women 



Conducted bv Miss Emma M. Wilson. Marengo, 111. 



Women in the National Association 



In the list of members of the National 

 Bee-Keepers' .Associajtion are found the 

 names of 77 women. Of course that is 

 by no means a fair index of the propor- 

 tion of women that are interested in bee- 

 keeping. Those 77 are merely a few of 

 the sister bee-keepers where there is no 

 man in the case, without reference to the 

 thousands who give more or less aid and 

 countenance to the lords of creation. 



like a reprint of the honey leaflet written 

 by Dr. Miller, of which so many thou- 

 sand copies have been circulated. Such 

 a Bulletin ought, to do good among our 

 Northern sisters. 



Uses of Vegetables, Fruits, and Honey 



"The Ontario Government." says the 

 Canadian Bee Journal, "has issued under 

 the auspices of the Women's Institutes, 

 Bulletin 184, which treats of the uses of 

 vegetables, fruits, and honey." The part 

 relating to honey is copied in the Cana- 

 dian Bee Jniirnal. .ind reads very much 



Bees Mixing Pollen 



It is generally believed that when a 

 bee starts out on a foraging trip, it works 

 on only one kind of blossom during that 

 trip. But there are exceptions. A writer, 

 G. W. Bulinan, is quoted in the British 

 Bee Journal, wilio claims that not only 

 are there exceptions, but bees are in the 

 habit of changing frequently from one 

 species of flower to another. One of tilt 

 sisters, Annie D. Betts, thought this was 

 an over-estimate, and made some inves- 

 tigations on her own account. During 

 the course of the season, from March 4 

 to October 18, she examined no less than 



