March, 1910. 



American T^ee Journal 



prosperous. He asked me if I was not 

 going to shake mine, and I told him I 

 thouglit not, especially if he would risk 

 matters with his colonies which were 

 with mine, asour bees were out of "sight 

 and hearing" of other colonies, in a se- 

 cluded spot under the protection of this 

 large piece of woodland. He said he did 

 not care so long as he could hold the 

 matter there where it was and not spread 

 it among otiier bees. I doubled all the 

 colonies which were likely to succumb, 

 and succeeded in getting a fairly good 

 crop of section honey from the whole, 

 although tlie number was quite largely 

 reduced by doubling. Dr. Miller tells us 

 that he marked all colonies having from 

 I to 20 diseased larvx "bad," and all 

 having more than this as "very bad." 

 Those having from I to 20 cells with me 

 were marked with an X ; those having 

 from 20 10 200, were marked with XX, 

 while those having from 200 to nearly 

 half the cells containing this diseased 

 brood were marked XXX. Thus I 

 could tell in the future all about what 

 had been in any of these diseased colo- 

 ies. 



After the harvest of white honey was 

 over, and the sections were removed, 

 only 5 colonies showed any signs of the 

 disease, and these 5 only a few cells; 

 while all of ^Ir. Clark's, both those 

 which he had shaken on foundation, and 

 those not having the disease in the 

 spring, were all right. Strange to say, 

 only one of those showing sings of the 

 disease at his time was marked XXX, 

 two being marked X, so that those con- 

 sidered the worst in June did not so con- 

 tinue to the end of the honey harvest, as 

 there were more at first of the XXX 

 than of the others. All had normal 

 quantity of bees for winter, together with 

 necessary stores to carry them through. 

 Owing to heavy winds, blowing in just 

 in the right direction, the snow piled in 

 very deeply around that part of the 

 woodland where the bees were, so that 

 the colonies became too warm, started 

 brood-rearing and when spring opened 

 the larger part of both Mr. Clark's and 

 my own had succumbed, or were very 

 weak, and spring-dwindled. 



When June arrived I had only 3 col- 

 onies left, and of these one was marked 

 with an X, one with XX, while the third 

 was marked with XXX. On opening 

 these hives not a trace of black or Euro- 

 pean foul brood could be found in eith- 

 er of these three colonies, while 2 of the 

 colonies which Mr. Clark had shaken on 

 foundation the year before showed the 

 disease, one of them quite badly. 



Mr. Stevens, the inspector for this 

 locality, came around on his tour of in- 

 spection. After telling him all that had 

 been done and what had not been done, 

 he was requested to examine carefully 

 the 3 hives marked with X, XX, XXX, 

 especially this last, to see if he could 

 find a single trace of any disease in that 

 colony. He not only very carefully 

 looked all the unsealed larvx over, but 

 he uncapped hundreds of those which 

 were sealed, and after this rigid inspec- 

 tion he said he was compelled to pro- 

 nounce each of the 3 colonies free from 

 all disease. And they have shown no 

 signs of the disease since. 



Those of Mr. Clark's, having been 

 shaken the previous year, but showing 



the disease again, were allowed to re- 

 main without further attention, and the 

 out-apiary is today free from the disease, 

 as far as can be discovered. 



As this article is already too long, I 

 will leave what I wish to say further for 

 the next number of the American Bee 

 Journal. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



3.— Bee-Talks for Beginners 



DV JIMSON RAGWEED, OF INDIANA. 



L.-^TE Feeding of Bees. 



Mr. Ragweed: — I have one colony of bees, 

 very strong and much honey, but the honey 

 is all sealed over. Our minister thinks they 

 should be fed, and he gave nie your name and 

 address and has told me about your bees. 

 During the warm days I fed them a spoonful 

 of sj;rup, or what I could pour on the alight- 

 ing-board without it dripping away, and they 

 actually were very hungry; but since the 

 weather is cool they refuse to eat more. How 

 should I proceed? Perhaps this question is 

 unusual, but I am a beginner, and any in- 

 formation will be thankfully received. I de- 

 rive much pleasure in caring for my bees, 

 especially since I am alone in the world. 

 Very truly, 

 Mrs. Sarah B. Good. 



Dear Mrs. Good: — I have your kind 

 letter about your bees, and I take pleas- 

 ure in replying. Your question is not 

 unusual, but I think you have a wrong 

 impression as to their need of more 

 stores. Being strong in numbers and an 

 abundance of sealed stores is a most ex- 

 cellent condition, and I think that no im- 

 mediate attention is required. Feeding, 

 when required, should be done inside the 

 hive, so that no robber-bees can inter- 

 fere, and the bees then deposit the syrup 

 in the comb and consume it as required. 

 By this mail I am sending a copy of a 

 bee-paper, and I believe you would be 

 much pleased with one of the bee-books 

 which you will see advertised. 

 Witli kindest wishes. 



JiMSON Ragweed. 



Stimulative Feeding in Spring. 



Dear Uncle Jimson: — Our bees did not do 

 very well last season, but we will have an 

 abundance of white clover this year, and pa 

 wants me to write and ask your opinion about 

 spring feeding, or what you call stimulative 

 feeding. 



You ask about Nathan. Yes. he still calls 

 every Sunday and Wednesday evenings. Last 

 Sunday evening he staid till 11 o'clock, and 

 then ma rapped on the floor upstairs, and he 

 went right home ; but he came back Wednes- 

 day evening. Ma has just found out that 

 Nathan smokes a pipe, and so I don't know 

 just what we will do yet. 



We all send our love to Thursea, Sam, and 

 the twins. Elsie Ragweed. 



My Dear Elsie ; — -Jimson has gone to 

 Peru today to attend a swine-breeders' 

 meeting, and I thought I would write 

 you. About stimulative feeding, Jimson 

 says he knows some good, progressive 

 bee-men who practice the method, but 

 after trying it repeatedly he does not be- 

 lieve in it. He says he gets best results 

 by doing his feeding all in the fall, and 

 then in the spring, about the time the 

 bees get their first pollen, he goes 

 through each hive, brushing off bottom- 

 boards and placing outside combs, that 

 contain most honey, next to the cluster. 

 Such colonies for us build up faster than 

 those which we have tried to stimulate. 

 When we tried soring feeding for stimu- 

 lating, it seemed that the bees were en- 



ticed to fly out, under the impression that 

 flowers were secreting, and at every 

 burst of sunshine they would start out, 

 and such colonies suffered with spring 

 dwindling, and just at the time of year 

 wlien every bee counts. 



We are all well except Eva. I pinned 

 a red shawl around her and she and 

 Steve went out in the yard to play, and 

 our turkey gobbler attacked her. She is 

 not hurt, but badly scared. 



Your aunt, 

 Thursea Ragweed. 



Keeping Sections Clean. 



Cousin Jimson: — At the reunion Ci and 1 

 took a look at your comb honey in your bee- 

 shed, and I want to ask you how to keep 

 your sections so nice and clean. I have a 

 lot of honey just as fine as yours, but the 

 tops of my sections are fearfully stained. I 

 use the very best hives and finest polished sec- 

 tions, and a heavy cloth over each super. 



We are going to kill hogs next week. Can't 

 you bring your family and come over? We 

 had intended to butcher this week, but the 

 moon will not be right till next week. 



Archie Ragweed. 



Dear Archie: — I think I understand 

 why your sections are soiled. Some 

 years ago all hives were constructed 

 with no bee-space on frames or sections, 

 but now all hives are supplied with a 

 bee-space of about three-sixteenths of 

 an inch, so that when we place the cover 

 we do not kill the bees, and they can 

 pass over one section to the other. With 

 this bee-space neither propqlis nor bur- 

 combs are deposited, and when you use 

 the cloth you are spoiling the very feat- 

 ure that is valuable in your hives. In 

 the old hives the cloth was essential, 

 but it should be omitted now. 



There is a new calf in our barn, and 

 we can not very well come next week. 

 Jimson Ragweed. 



(To be Continued) 



How to Make Honey-Vinegar 



BY C. P. DADANT. 



I am going to make some honey-vmegar next 

 summer, and would like to have you tell me 

 how to make it. 



1. Where would be the best place to keep 

 the barrel in the summer, in the shade or in 

 the hot sun? 



2. Where would be the best place to keep 

 it in winter, in the cellar or up-stairs? My 

 cellar is damp in winter. 



3. Do you put anything in the vinegar to 

 make it stronger? If so, when would you put 

 it in the barrel, after the water and honey are 

 in the barrel ? 



4. What part water and what honey is best? 



5. How long does it take the vinegar to 

 form? 



6. What temperature should it be to make 

 it work well? Wisconsin. 



I like to see the matter on which in- 

 formation is wanted put into the shape 

 of questions, so these questions are very 

 appropriate, for they indicate about what 

 the average bee-keepers wants to know 

 on the matter of vinegar-making. 



I will, however, not follow the line 

 they indicate, but will try to answer 

 them while handling the subject from 

 one end to the other. I have already, 

 at diflferent times, discussed this manu- 

 facture, but after seeing and tasting the 

 different samples of vinegar exhibited 

 at State Fairs in which I was judge — in 

 Illinois, Kansas, etc. — I conclude that as 

 yet, there are very few persons who suc- 

 ceed in making good vinegar out of 

 honey. So this will probably be useful 



