October, IHIG. 



^^^^^^^ 



American Vee 



are made high enough to reach from 

 the stand or bench to midway of the 

 extra grass-filled body, to prevent 

 drafts. These straw-board slabs are 

 held in place by strong cords, three to 

 each hive, top, bottom and center. 



My method of fastening is to form a 

 loop in one end of the cord, so it can 

 be pulled up good and tight; the loose 

 end is then "tucked under;" two half 

 turns are sufficient By avoiding knots 

 the cords may be quickly removed by 

 simply pulling on the loose end. The 

 slabs and cord made to order cost 20 

 cents per set and will last many years. 



During the month of January the 

 hives were turned end for end and 

 dead bees removed from bottom boards 

 by means ot suitable wire hook, after 

 which the hives were again turned 

 right end to. 



I have found this method of packing 

 very satisfactory indeed. My hive- 

 bodies being 8-frame size are light, 

 have no projecting cleats or hand 

 holds; this permits a snug fit for the 

 straw board slabs. I sometimes place 

 a gunnysack or piece of old carpet 

 over the top of the hive to arrest any 

 tendency of circulation between hive- 

 bodies and the slabs. Being indoors, 



no covers are required ; in fact, my 

 summer covers consist mainly of honey- 

 board, held in place vvith a brick or 

 block. 



The past winter here, according to 

 United States weather reports, was 

 about the usual average for this part 

 of Michigan, ordinary temperatures 

 ranging from 5 to 2.5 degrees Fahr. 

 above; then we had warmer spells and 

 also cold snaps when mercury dropped 

 below zero for days at a time. About 

 the middle of April is the time when 

 Michigan beekeepers bring their colo- 

 nies from winter quarters to the sum- 

 mer stands. My method, of course, 

 dispenses with all that, as I leave them 

 in the barn loft the year around. The 

 interesting facts are that all my colo- 

 nies commenced brood-rearing about 

 March 1, or earlier. 



The early brood rearing and vigor- 

 ous condition of my colonies generally 

 seems to prove that the packing is 

 adequate to conserve vitality and 

 stores; it also affords opportunities 

 for the much desired cleansing flights 

 on numerous warm days, without at- 

 tention. 



Grand Rapids, Mich. 



Bee-Kjeepinc ^ For Women 



Conducted by Miss Emma M. Wilson, Mareoeo. 111. 



A Woman Beekeeper in British 

 Columbia 



I have at last after four months 

 writing to various bee people, got- 

 ten a hive up here. The hive and 

 frames were home made. I have now 

 gotten them into a 10-trame Lang- 

 stroth Hive, having transferred the 

 bees of the old combs into the new 

 frames, and they have drawn out four 

 f''ames of foundation. 



They are Italian, but the queen and 

 drones are very dark. Unless short 

 of honey they are good tempered, and 

 when they do sting, they are not half 

 as bad as the mosquitoes and black 

 flies. 



I do not know what bees will be 

 able to do up he'"e, the northern end 

 ot Vancouver Island. As you prob- 

 ably know, it is all forest but this 

 place used to be an old Indian ranch 

 and there are a great many wild 

 flowering shrubs, currants, goose- 

 berries, salmon berry, wild crabs, 

 plums, maples, etc. Fireweed is sup- 

 posed to be the main honey crop plant 

 where there is no clover. 



I hatched a queen cell in my in- 

 cubator last week just to see if it 

 would work all right. I wonder that 

 beekeepers who go in for queen rear- 

 ing on a large scale do not use incu- 

 bators. One can regulate the temper- 

 ature and moistur3 perfectly with a 

 good machine. 



Mrs. Lillian E. Bland. 



[Some years ago there was consid- 

 erable done in the way ot hatching 



young queens by artificial heat, but 

 latterly little is said about it. Some 

 believe artifical heat is just as good 

 as Ihe heat of the hives, while others 

 think there is a special benefit from 

 the actual contact of the bees sur- 

 rounding the queen-cells. We make 

 much use of the Miller nursery. In 

 which queen-cells are put to await 

 the emerging of the virgins, but pre- 

 fer to have the cells in the nursery 

 as short a time as possible. The nur- 

 sery is kept in the upper story of a 

 strong colony so the cells have the 

 heat of the hive, but not the imme- 

 diate contact of the bees. One special 

 advantage of having virgins hatch out 

 in an incubator or nursery is that one 

 may tlius disca''d any that have irii- 

 perfect wings or other defects, where- 

 as when a sealed cell is given to a 

 nucleus one cannot be sure that the 

 cell does not contain an imperfect vir- 

 gin, and some'imes a dead larva.] 



Honey is a Wholesome Sweet 



It is a matter for no small gratu- 

 lation that so well written an article 

 as follows should be published in a 

 paper having the immense circulation 

 of The Chicago Daily New.^ from 

 which paper it is copied. 



Dry statistics tell us that every 

 man, woman and child in the United 

 States consumes, on an average, 

 eighty-five pounds of sugar annually. 

 Most health experts will agree, that 



while the body craves sugar, this Is 

 an excess amount of cane sugar, which 

 should not be used in larger quanti- 

 ties than three or four ounces a day. 

 A great deal of this cane sugar is 

 taken into the system by means of 

 commercial candy, many young wom- 

 en being known to consume one-half 

 pound or more at one sitting. 



Now all sugar, particularly cane 

 sugar, has an affinity for lime. In 

 practice this means that an excess of 

 sugar is bad for the teeth since it 

 breaks down the lime substance of 

 which the teeth are made. In ad- 

 dition, while many commercial can- 

 dies are above reproach in purity, 

 the'"e is still a great mass of adulter- 

 ated candy manufactured and eaten 

 by our children. 



Is there no other form of sugar less 

 harmful than cane sugar and equally 

 attractive with candy? Yes, a sweet 

 as old as biblical times, at least 3,000 

 years ago. and that is honey. Honey 

 is the most simple and natural of sug- 

 ars and can be absorbed readily into 

 the blood. The very fact that it seems 

 "sweeter" is thus a guidepost to tak- 

 ing too much. For children especially, 

 honey or food in which honey is used 

 are far preferable to arfific'al sweet- 

 meats. Every grow'ng child demands 

 a quantity of sugar, but it has been 

 proved that the child who at home re- 

 ceives foods in which enough sweet of 

 the proper kind is given will not 

 crave artificial swee's and cand'fs. 



There are many special rec-p"s in 

 which honey can be usfd. The famous 

 cookies of countries oversea, the gin- 

 ger bread and special honey desserts 

 of va''ious countries are fairly fami'- 

 iar. One called instantly to mind is 

 the Turkish dessert, paklava, or a 

 pastry served with nuts and honey. 

 Another foreign confection is poind- 

 ed nuts and honey worked to a paste, 

 molded and cut into squares after tlie 

 manner of our own "fudge." 



But the housewife can use honey in 

 still other ways than connections. 

 Why not honey in the center of baked 

 apples c(mibined with raisins, or u-ed 

 with stewing fruits of various kinds? 

 As honey has the power of abso''t)'ng 

 moisture from the air, any cakes or 

 bread baked with honey keeps better 

 and more moist and less likely tc dry 

 out. Honey can also be used on vari- 

 ous cereals or on bread espe^iaVy 

 the whole wheat and brown variety. 

 Think of the splendid snack for a 

 youngster that a generous slice of 

 whole wheat bread and honey m^kes. 



In preserving and canning, honey 

 may also be used in place of various 

 syrups. Its subtle flavor and hea'th- 

 fiilness recommend it. As to expense, 

 while it may seem that honey is dear- 

 er than sugar, less of it need be used, 

 so that there is little ultimate differ- 

 ence in price, especially with sugar 

 at the current market figure. 



Many housekeepers do not know the 

 right place in which to store honey, 

 and unthinkingly put it in the cellar 

 o'- a dark, cool place. On the contrary, 

 honey should always be kept in a dry, 

 wari.n place, even at 100 degrees. If 

 kept >n a damp place the "cappings" 

 of the combs become watery and the 

 honey oozes through, but if the comb 



