American "Bee JoarnaJj 



March, igri. 



it that way, we will have to take our 

 medicine with as good grace as is pos- 

 sible under the circumstances. One of 

 the provoking features of the measure 

 is that it was entirely unexpected, as 

 none of us thought of such a thing, as 

 there being such a radical change made 

 at the present time. 



If the measure does become law, one 

 thing is certain, the interests of the 

 bee-keepers of the two countries will 

 practically be the same, and it would 

 naturally be the means of a closer 

 drawing together of all interested in 

 pursuit. 



Bees Curing Themselves of Foul Brood 



In reference to Henry Stewart's arti- 

 cle about bees curing themselves of 

 American foul brood (page 47), I would 

 say that when Mr. Stewart made his 

 claims along that line in another bee- 

 paper recently, I felt prompted to 

 write an answer to him. As I did not 

 do so then, I can not refrain at the 

 present time from putting myself on 

 record as believing positively that his 

 claims can not be substantiated ; and 

 with iMr. Dadant and others I am firmly 

 convinced that a comb once diseased 

 with American foul brood is a/zvays 

 diseased until it is melted or destroyed 

 in some other wav. 



Bees Under Snow in Winter 



With much interest and considerable 

 surprise I have read what Mr. Doolittle 

 has to say (page 49) regarding bees be- 

 ing covered over with snow in the win- 

 ter-time. Here in Ontario bee-keepers 

 differ as to whether it is a good prac- 

 tice or not, but the very fact of there 

 being a difference of opinion among 

 extensive producers, proves that here 

 no such disastrous results occur as Mr. 

 Doolittle chronicles in his e.xperience. 



Personally, I have had colonies cov- 

 ered over for months, and winter excel- 

 lently, but in common practice I like to 

 have the entrances clear, especially 

 after the middle of February. 



Some years ago, a friend of mine had 

 a number of strong colonies drift over 

 with snow, during a storm about the 

 middle of April, and being left for a 

 day or two in that condition, some of 

 the colonies actually smothered. Of 

 course, this was an e.xtreme case, as 

 the bees were very strong and had lots 

 of brood in the combs at the time. 

 With a space all around the hive free 

 from snow, as Mr. Doolittle mentions, 

 I would consider the bees in splendid 

 shape for wintering, as the snow all 

 around would give protection, and yet 

 plenty of air would be available for the 

 bees. 



This winter we have had but little 

 snow, but about 10 days ago a bad 

 storm from the east prevailed all day. 

 At the Altona yard the east end is shel- 

 tered by a tall row of evergreens, and 

 from past experience I know that a 

 number of colonies will be completely 

 covered over. I have not been to the 

 apiary for 8 weeks, and I am not wor- 

 rying about those colonies in the least. 

 However, today (Feb. 18) it is quite 

 mild, and I have 'phoned to the farmer 

 on whose place the bees are, to shovel 

 the snow away from the hive-entrances. 

 If the weather had remained cold I 



would have left them alone for a while 

 yet. 



A few years ago, at this same yard, 

 the snow drifted among the bees so 

 that every hive was covered about Feb. 

 1st — in fact, the snow in places was 6 

 feet deep among the apple-trees where 

 the bees are located. The hive-en- 

 trances were opened after every storm 

 as soon as possible, and about March 

 2.5th the bees had a good flight. 



About a month later I was at the yard 

 again, and was much chagrined to no- 

 tice that I had entirely overlooked a 

 colony near the fence at the east end of 

 the yard where the snow had been very 

 deep. The hive was still covered over 

 with the exception that one corner of 

 the case was beginning to show through 

 the snow. The day was quite warm, 

 and the bees flying freely from all the 

 other hives, and as I went to the barn 

 for a shovel, I felt sure that the bees 

 would be dead — had no doubt about the 

 matter at all. As I began to shovel the 

 snow away, I found things just as Mr. 

 Doolittle describes — all around the hive 

 the snow was melted, and in front there 

 was a space big enough for a bushel 



basket. Were the bees dead ? Not a 

 bit of it, and they seemed in no hurry 

 to get out, either. They were in per- 

 fect condition, and that colony was one 

 of the best in the apiary that season. In 

 this ease the colony had been entirely 

 covered with snow for nearly .3 months, 

 and yet no harm was done. 



I will not attempt to explain why 

 there were such different results in Mr. 

 Doolittle's experience, but certainly I 

 do not worry any if the snow is over 

 the hives during cold weather, espe- 

 cially if I am sure that the hive-en- 

 trances are clear of snow. 



Bees Have No Flight in 4 Months 



This is Feb. 19, and the bees on the 

 summer stands have had no flight since 

 the latter part of October. A few colo- 

 nies show signs of dysentery, but if a 

 flight is possible inside of 2 or 3 weeks, 

 I look for fair wintering, after all. A 

 short time now will tell the tale, and 

 when writing for next month I hope to 

 be able to say, " Bees had a fine flight 

 on ." 



Conducted by Loris H. ScHOLi,. New Braunfels. Tex. 



Pleasures of the Bee-Business 



Since the last article it has been quite 

 cold several times, and we have had to 

 confine our work to our shop-work. 

 This is one advantage the bee-keeper 

 has over many others, and that is a 

 thing that we appreciate about the bee- 

 keeping business more than anything 

 else, except the "paying part of it," 

 which, of course, naturally comes first, 

 as it is the thing that brings us the 

 bread and butter part of the business. 

 But just as important are the joys ob- 

 tained in any business, and if the bee- 

 keeper manages rightly he will find 

 that he is a fortunate creature indeed, 

 blessed with advantages that are not 

 possessed by a great many who work 

 hard for their daily bread. Therefore 

 it should not only be the main question 

 to consider when one inquires about 

 the bee-keeping business as to whether 

 it is a paying proposition, from a mone- 

 tary standpoint alone. 



Bee-Keeping a Healthful Field of Work 



Besides being a paying proposition I 

 have found it a field of work that will 

 give one good health and long life, if 

 followed rightly. One of the main fea- 

 tures in this connection is the fact that 

 one can go out and enjoy himself in 

 the fresh air and sunshine while he is 

 engaged with the daily work with the 

 bees, thereby earning the necessaries 

 of life at the same time. Then, when 

 the weather is such that it is not well 

 to go out, the indoor work, or no work 

 at all, is quite an item. The work in 

 the shop, especially if this is a comfort- 

 able one, is quite a relief, for a change 

 if indoor work is enjoyed for a while. 



I will show my shop and honey-house 

 next month. 



Cold Weather and Condition of Bees 



Although the cold weather was very 

 severe it has not done very much harm 

 to the bees. One of the main reasons 

 was that they were all in very good 

 shape, strong and vigorous, and with 

 plenty of stores. This point alone is 

 worth its weight in gold, and it is 

 therefore a thing that receives a lot of 

 my attention at the proper time. To 

 have the bees go into winter quarters 

 in the fall so that they will have amply 

 sufficient, not only for the winter re- 

 quirements, but long into the follow- 

 ing spring, is a consolation that makes 

 one feel good, .-^nd it is only another 

 one of the things that adds to the en- 

 joyment and the good health of the bee- 

 keeper. 



It is surprising how much cold a col- 

 ony of bees can stand if it is in prime 

 condition, and with a lot of honey to 

 live on. So my bees are in fine shape 

 for the coming season, and if every- 

 thing else turns out favorably the pros- 

 pects for a good crop are very fair. 

 We have had very good rains in most 

 parts of the State, and a good honey 

 harvest generally would liven things 

 up to the tune of yore. 



The River-Bottom String of Apiaries 



It is often said that it is folly to 

 spread out too much, but when we con- 

 sider the advisability of keeping more 

 bees, it becomes apparent that we rnust 

 necessarily do this very thing. This is 

 what I did years ago. My apiaries that 



