American T^ee Journal 



une, ign. 



wide and H deep: then about an inch from 

 that begin to level and run down to H inch 

 thick at the outer edge. This I cut to length 

 2 inches longer than the hive. Then take a 

 piece of h by i!= inch stuff and nail the two 

 pieces on it. putting the matched edges to- 



ROUhO HCAOCO 



/-TVS' eoARD 



getherwith lead and oil. Then get a thin 

 piece for a ridge-piece, wide enough to come 

 to the center of the little grooves. At each 

 corner I put a i'4 inch Xo. o round-headed 

 screw: this keeps the edges from curling up. 

 A nail would pull out, but the screw does 

 not. 



I have some that have been in use 4 or 5 

 years, that are as flat as ever, and there is 

 no obstruction to prevent water running off, 

 and no joints for it to soak into and cause 

 decay. 



For bottoms I make concrete blocks, the 

 width of the hive and 3 inches longer by 2 

 inches thick, and cut out of Js-inch stuff 

 pieces "s-inch wide at the front and H at the 

 back end, for thesidesof thehive to rest on: 

 also a piece H thick to fill in at the back end. 

 Use these pieces on the blocks to set the 

 hive on. I don't use any bottom-*oii;-,/j. This 

 gives a good entrance h deep by the width 

 of the hive. These blocks cost about 15 

 cents each, and will last always, and do not 

 furnish a hiding and nesting place for mice, 

 spiders, and other pests. 



^-Whenlusea wood bottom I get a board 

 the width of the irish/e of the hive, and 2 

 inches longer (or get 2 narrow ones), and nail 

 a 2x4 at the back end. and one 3 inches from 

 the front, then nail a board of ,'» by z'l or 3 

 inches around this on the 2 sides, and at the 

 back end, letting it project up as far as I 

 want the depth of the space under the 

 frames. This also prevents water getting 

 into joints, as in Mr. Scholl's hive-bottom. 

 The2X4 blocks keep it a nice distance from 

 the ground. L. C. Rousseau. 



u .Waxahachie. Tex. 



Bees Wintered All Right 



I had all my bees in the cellar the past 

 winter. I put them in Oct. 27th. and they 

 were in the cellar until about March 25th. 

 when I took out 10 of the 19 colonies, and 

 they had wintered well in a cellar where we 

 have potatoes. It 1$ under the house. The 

 bees had a flight the same day. then it be- 

 came cold for about 2 or 3 weeks, so I put 

 them back in the cellar, and they remained 

 there until about April loth, when I carried 

 them out again. Those that had not been 

 out I took out a few days afterward, so I had 

 all my bees outdoors by the middle of April. 

 I lost 2 colonies out of 19. The bees win- 

 tered all right. One colony had not more 

 than 15 pounds of honey last fall, but is in 

 good condition now. 



We had snow here yesterday, and a little 

 cold, so the bloom on the trees is damaged: 

 but the dandelions are out. 



Algot B. Bernston. 



Bagley, Minn.. May 12. 



Do Bees Move Eggs ? 



Well, well, well, I should say they do, and 

 I can not understand why all bee-men of ex- 

 perience have not seen that proven to their 

 entire satisfaction. 



I have just read Mr. Robinson's article 

 'page ii'ji, and agree with him all the way 

 through, as I have seen just such evidence 

 of bees moving eggs and larv^. 



Many years ago— long before I learned that 

 queen-excluders were honey-exclutlers as 

 well— I gave a super of dry combs to a strong 

 colony to prevent swarming, but placed a 

 queen-excluder between it and the brood- 

 nest, and was surprised a week later to find 

 several fine queen-cells on the combs over 

 the excluder. There were no other larvae or 

 eggs in the combs. 



I have long since learned not to use the 

 word " never " in speaking about the doings 

 of bees, but I am quite sure I would be safe 

 in saying that good queens never lay in 

 queen-cells. Certainly I have seen eggs in 

 queen-cells, but 1 have never seen a queen 

 lay in queen-cells, although an old or failing 

 queen may do so. 



I wonder that a man like Mr. Abram would 



say that an egg can not be moved from where 

 the queen put it without ruining it: perhaps 

 he never tried it. and was only guessing at it. 



And now, while I am about it, let me ad- 

 vise all bee-folks never to guess at bees or 

 their work. If you do. you may " get left." 



As many of the readers of the bee-papers 

 know. I am an old queen-breeder, and have 

 grafted many eggs into artificial cell-cups, 

 and instead of them falling out or being 

 thrown out by the bees, they have turned 

 out to be the mothers of many fine colonies. 



-Now, if I with my clumsy fingers and in- 

 struments can transfer eggs without ruining 

 them, why can not the bees, with their deli- 

 cate mandibles, do the same ? 



Yes, bees can and do move eggs and small 

 larvs and I have good reasons to believe 

 that they sometimes steal eggs from other 

 colonies with which to rear a queen. 



San Benito, Tex. Grant Anderson. 



Cold and Wet Spring 



Bees went into winter quarters in rather 

 poor shape in this section last fall, and we 

 are now having a cold, wet spring, which is 

 causing the loss of many colonies. There is 

 no bloom as yet, except elm and peach. 

 Clover, however, looks fine, Jno. S. Coe. 



Boyce. Va.. April 23. 



Apiary of Ulysses Adams 



The picture herewith shows a part of my 

 apiary with myself holding a 6-section frame 

 of honey. The tree at the left is a large 

 cherry, and the one to the right an apricot. 



Apiary of Ulysses Adams. 



The limb projecting above is part of an old 

 plum tree. I am 73 years old and have poor 

 vision, but have managed my apiary of 03 

 colonies alone. Ulysses Adams. 



Missouri City. Mo. 



Bee-Keeping in the Ozark Mountains of 

 Missouri 



I would be glad to tell what we of the 

 Ozarks of Missouri are doing in the way of 

 apiculture, although you seldom hear from 

 this section— one of the best in the State for 

 the production of either comb or extracted. 



Mr. J. W. Rouse, of Mexico, Mo., says that 

 the statistics quoted by himself as taken 

 from the (oldi Report of the Bureau of Labor, 

 area pretty good showing, taking into consid- 

 eration the general output of the United 

 States. That report is made up by the rail- 

 roads, taken from their shipping records, 

 and. of course, only that which is shipped 

 directly from onecounty to another is taken 

 into account. 



There are thousands of pounds of honey 

 produced in the State of Missouri, of which 

 no record whatever is kept. Much of it is 

 sold to neighbors of the apiarist who are 

 afraid of bees and in the smaller towns 

 along the railroads, and at good, round 

 figures, too, for this section of country is 



blessed by Nature with an abundance of 

 honey-producing plants and trees, besides 

 the favorable climate, making it unnecessary 

 to place bees in cellars, feeding in spring or 

 fall, or to protect in spring on account of 

 spring dwindling— things which we only 



read about " even in the northern part of 

 the State, and look upon with amazement 

 and wonder "how it is done" just a little 

 further north. 



It is true that this part of the country is 

 sparsely settled, fortunately for the up-to- 

 date bee-keeper, who with modern ideas 

 and modern hives, and Italian bees, wishes 

 to produce the "real thing" in the way of 

 honey. In my position, with practically no 

 competition, and 400 acres of land of my own. 

 besides section after section of land on each 

 sideof me. the nearest neighbor who even 

 pretends to keep bees being from 3'A to 4 

 miles distant, it looks as if such a range of 

 wooded lands and a plenty of clear running 

 water from innumerable springs should pro- 

 duce honej — hey ? 



At this date (April 10) my colonies are 

 ready for the supers, built up strong and 

 chock-full of brood and honey, and all I have 

 to do is to alternate, put the lower brood- 

 chamber on top of the upper, and the supers 

 will receive a welcome from the bees. Dur- 

 ing the past winter there was not a week at 

 any one time when the bees did not have a 

 flight, wintered on the summer stands, and 

 without any protection whatever, frequently 

 flying every day. 



While I am a beginner (out here) so far as 

 starting up a new apiary is concerned, I have 

 been a resident of this section of country for 

 the past 4 years, and for 20 years interested 

 in apiculture. The other men along this 

 line are of a class who are against new ideas 

 altogether. They keep their bees as their 

 grandfathers did— in box-hives and gums. If 

 they get any honey they take it for their 

 share as contributed by their bees from Na- 

 ture's storehouse, and eat it or sell it at the 

 country store in exchange for fat meat 

 (which few put up in winter) fortheir family 

 use. 



For the past 30 or 40 days the woods and 

 fields have been literally carpeted with wild 

 bloom: followed afterward by the peach or- 

 chards, then the pears and apples; now the 

 wild pansies. violets, phlox, verbenas, dog- 

 wood, plums and wild cherry, besides in- 

 numerable bloom with which I am not yet 

 familiar. After these come the catnip. 

 " British tea." sumac, wild raspberry, black- 

 berry, etc., all in readiness to give a good 

 yield of honey. Then the white and red 

 clovers, the former all along the roadsides 

 (the latter in the orchards), and sage, wild 

 grapes in great profusion, and Japan clover, 

 which seems to be taking the country. 



Later in the season for fall honey we have 

 a profusion of aster bloom, heartsease, gold- 

 en-rod, etc.— a " continual profusion" for 

 the bees from March 1st to Nov. 15th at the 

 latest, when we stop manipulating and let 

 the bees gather enough stores for winter. 

 An apiarist has to hustle during much of 

 this time, but by proper manipulation of 

 hives, frames, and sections, he can "make 

 good." and increase without troubling the 

 flow of honey, for a swarm in May will build 

 up to a strong colony by August, and pro- 

 duce surplus, besides. 



It seems funny to read of getting ready- 

 colonies built up strong for the "honey-flow " 

 which lasts only a few weeks at oest in 

 Northern climates. Almost as funny as to 

 hear these old farmers speak of this country 

 not being fit for bees. when, if they would 

 burn up their old boxes and give the bees 

 more room and ventilation they would 

 change their minds. They are afraid of 

 their bees, anyway, and knock off the covers 

 of their hives " semi-occasionally " to see if 

 any honey is there. I would like to buy 

 some of their swarms as they issue, but I am 

 afraid to do so on account of the condition 

 of the bees. The same combs have been 

 used year after year, and if foul brood is not 

 rampant. I don't know why not. 



In a radius of 20 miles I know of only 3 or 4 

 farmers who keep bees. They are usually 

 the black bees, gotten from the woods, most 

 likely, but some of the box-hives have a 

 double story with hand-made frames, all 

 sizes and shapes— an excuse for frame hives, 

 of course. butnot fit for transferringtoothers 

 if occasion should demand. None of them 

 take bee-papers, that I can find, and are as 

 ignorant of "patent gums" as they are of 

 everything else. 



The Ozarks of Missouri, especially this 

 section, is a i-iwi/ place to keep bees—" more 

 bees." and still more bees — for the pasture 

 is grand, the fields are not encumbered. and» 

 if I can not instill a little life into the indus- 

 try I surely can make money for myself. 

 Stone Co.. Mo., April to. N. T. Green. 



