(Entered as second-class matter July 30. 1907, at tbe Post-Offlce at Ohloago, 111., nnder Act ot March 3, 1879.) 



Published Monthly at $1.00 a Year, by George W. York & Company, 117 North Jefferson Street, 



GEORGE W. YORK. Editor. 



DR. C. C. MILLER, Associate Editor. 



CHICAGO, ILL, OCTOBER, 1911 



Vol. LI -No. 10 



Editorial 



Comments 



Many Bees Likely to Starve 



A note from E. M. Nichols, of Massa- 

 chusetts, sharply calls attention to a 

 matter of great importance. He says : 



" We have had a very poor honey-flow in 

 our section. I have been buyint^ a few bees, 

 and I find they are in bad shape for winter. 

 I have not been able yet to find an apiary 

 with one colony that had sufticient stores 

 for winter: more of them having a teacupful 

 or so of Iioney each; of course this means a 

 heavy loss, unless they have attention." 



The probability is that this state of 

 aflfairs prevails not merely in this one 

 locality, but over a large scope of ter- 

 ritory throughout the country. The 

 season in general was one of drouth 

 and dearth. In Northern Illinois, col- 

 onies that were heavy with stores in 

 April were living from hand to mouth 

 in June and July, at the very time they 

 ought to have been storing heavily ; 

 and it is not likely that Northern Illi- 

 nois was very exceptional in this re- 

 spect. 



In some places a fall flow will have 

 been enough, or more than enough, to 

 provide well for winter. But this will 

 by no means be the case in all places. 

 Of course, it is not necessary to call 

 the attention of the experienced and 

 prudent bee-keeper to this matter. But 

 all are not experienced, and it is to be 

 greatly feared that the coming winter 

 will be one of unusual mortality just 

 because so many will take it for granted 

 that the bees are able to take care of 

 themselves with no attention from the 

 bee-keeper. 



It is not yet too late to supply any 

 deficiency, but the sooner the better. 

 See that each colony has at least :30 

 pounds of honey, although something 

 less will do for cellaring. To the in- 

 experienced it is not the easiest thing 

 to tell how much honey is in a hive. If 

 all hives and all colonies were alike, it 

 would be an easy thing to say, "Weigh 

 each hive with its contents, and if it 

 does not come up to a certain weight 



feed accordingly." But that "certain 

 weight " may vary in different apiaries, 

 as hives, covers, and bottom-boards 

 vary no little. Perhaps it may not be 

 far out of the way to say, "Look in 

 each hive, and see that there is present 

 enough honey so that if assembled in 4 

 frames it would fill them /"«//." Instead 

 of opening each hive and estimating in 

 that way, a little easier way may be 

 taken. Find one colony that by care- 

 ful estimation you feel very sure is 

 heavy enough, perhaps making it so by 

 exchanging frames and giving it heavy 

 combs from other colonies. Now 

 weigh that hive. Suppose it weighs 50 

 pounds. Now weigh the other hives, 

 and put down the weight of each. If 

 some of them weigh (iO pounds or more, 

 be thankful and leave them as they are. 

 You may feel tempted to take from 

 them to give to lighter ones. Better 

 not. Chance enough to do that next 

 spring. 



Having weighed each hive, you must 

 make good the shortage in each by 

 feeding. Here is one that is 10 pounds 

 short. How much feed will you give 

 it? That depends upon the thickness 

 of your syrup. In any case you can 

 not now give as thin syrup as you 

 could earlier. In August you could 

 feed half sugar and half water. That 

 will not do at all now. The bees ought 

 not to be asked to do so much evap- 

 orating at this late hour. For so late 

 feeding some advise 2 parts sugar to 

 one of water. Others think it better to 

 give 2>2 parts sugar to one of water, as 

 this makes a feed aboutthe consistency 

 of honey. If this heavier syrup is used, 

 you will give 10 pounds to make up the 

 10 pounds of shortage. If you feed 2 

 to 1, then to make up the 10 pounds 

 shortage, you must feed about 10;'+ 

 pounds, or, to be very exact, 10 5-7 

 pounds. The idea is to give 5-7 of a 

 pound of suj^'dr for every pound of 

 shortage, no matter what the strength 

 of the syrup. It will be as well, or bet- 



ter, and will be easier to figure, if you 

 give a pound of sugar for each pound 

 of shortage. 



When feeding such heavy syrup, 

 there is some danger of granulation. 

 To avoid this, an even teaspoonful of 

 tartaric acid may be used for every 20 

 pounds of sugar. Some, however, have 

 no trouble without the acid, and a few 

 have trouble even with the acid. 



Size ot Colony in Winter 



In " How to Keep Bees,'' Arthur C. 

 Miller says, " In the winter a good col- 

 ony of bees contains from :)(iUO to 6000 

 workers." That seems a small number, 

 but is there anything to contradict it ? 

 In all our bee-literature is there any 

 statement at all as to the number of 

 bees in a good colony in winter ? The 

 question might be raised as to what 

 time in winter is meant. Can we have 

 any information as to the number of 

 bees in a good colony at the time of its 

 cleansing flight in the spring, either 

 confirming or denying Mr. Miller's 

 statement ? 



Iinprovement in Shipping-Cases 



Much interest nowadays centers upon 

 the matter of shipping-cases. The 

 complaint is made by shippers that 

 they are not strong enough, and for 

 shipments where they are exposed to 

 the tender mercies of railroad freight- 

 handlers, this complaint is no doubt 

 justified. At any rate, a little more • 

 strength will not add much to the ex- 

 pense, and will do no harm in any 

 case. Additional use of corrugated 

 paper will also help. 



There is division of opinion as to 

 whether it is better to have 24-section 

 cases single-tier or double-tier. But a 

 point upon which the greatest differ- 

 ence of opinion seems likely to arise is 

 the matter of the glass. Even as to 

 the object of the glass there is differ- 

 ence of opinion. Some have claimed 

 that glass was in one side of the cases 

 so that the railroad men would see 

 what they were handling and use the 

 greater care, but others think the main 

 object of the glass is to allow a display 

 of the honey to the prospective custo- 

 mer. 



As to the width of the glass, there 



