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American Hee Journal 



at home, and the outsiders, in other 

 States, see very little of Texas honey. 

 Other States could do as well as we if 

 they would. If it be remembered that 

 the great Lone Star State is the leading 

 honey producer in the Union, produces 

 more honey than any other State, while 

 its population is comparatively less, for 

 its great size, than the Northern and 

 Eastern States, it must be plain that 

 these States with a greater population, 

 ought to consume a great deal more 

 honey instead of having to ship it to 

 other markets. 



Bulk-comb honey has solved the 

 problem for us, and we know a good 

 thing when we see it. We long ago 

 overcame the question Dr. Bohrer pro- 

 pounds on page I'.K). " But isn't ex- 

 tracted honey produced a little cheaper 

 than eitlier section or bulk-comb 

 honey ?" is an old question that has 

 been put to us many times. And it has 

 been downed just as often by the very 

 fact that when the consumers want comb 

 honey they do not want extracted. If 

 section honey is too high in price 

 (which it is for the great masses), then 

 they want no honey at all. Here is 

 where bulk-comb honey fills the bill, 

 and no amount of arguing can do away 

 with it. We have proven this to our 

 entire satisfaction in the most exten- 

 sive way for a number of years, and 

 in our articles we have only tried 

 to set forth its merits, but not with the 

 idea of forcing a method of honey pro- 

 duction upon others, except to give our 

 extensive experience to those who de- 

 sire it. and to those who have asked 

 for it. 



Painting Hives 



That this subject was settled long 

 ago has been my opinion of the matter, 

 despite the fact that Dr. Miller, and one 

 or two others, for some reason or 

 other, still hold on to their idea of find- 

 ing objections to painting hives. But 

 every once in a while out it crops 

 again. This it should not do, for a 

 very serious reason, and that reason is 

 this: A beginner has no business to 

 know of Dr. Miller's tenacity for un- 

 painted hives, as it will only mislead 

 him. Since a beginner is only too 

 likely to follow a great authority, is the 

 very reason. There are too few rea- 

 sons for not painting the hives to war- 

 rant it in all localities, or even in some 

 of them, Dr. Miller's not excepted, and 

 since the great majority the world over 

 paint their hives, have good reason for 

 doing so, and find that it pays to do so, 

 the writer being only one of them, let 

 it be a settled matter that the majority 

 rules, and hives should be painted. 



" The Amateur Bee-Keeper " 



This is a booklet of 86 pages, written 

 by Mr. J. W. Rouse, of Missouri. It is 

 mainly for beginners — amateur bee- 

 keepers — as its name indicates. It is a 

 valuable little work, revised this year, 

 and contains the methods of a practical, 

 up-to-date bee-keeper of many years' 

 experience. It is fully illustrated. Price, 

 postpaid, 2-5 cents; or with the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal one year — both for 

 $1.10. Send all orders to the office of 

 the American Bee Journal. 14tJ West 

 Superior St., Chicago, 111. 



National Bee-Keepers' Association 



General Manat'er. N'. E, France. Platteville. Wis, 



If any member of the National wants 

 a copy of my State Inspector's Annual 

 Report for Wisconsin, and will write 

 me for it, I will gladly mail a copy of it. 



A renewal of membership was just 

 received from a bee-keeper who has 

 kept bees the greatest number of years 

 continuously — 88 years, I believe. The 

 member is John Cline, of Darlington, 

 Wis. The "boys" stay with us. 



The membership of the National to- 

 day (June 18) is -3885. It will be more 

 than 4000 by the time of the National 

 meeting. There are a few who should 

 renew now, but after the honey-harvest 

 all will attend to that, surelv. 



Get ready for a very large and en- 

 thusiastic meeting. Every bee-keeper 

 who can possibly arrange to be present 

 should attend this meeting. Particu- 

 lars as to the date, program, etc., will 

 be announced later. Watch the bee- 

 papers for it. 



The program of the next meeting of 

 the National Association is being pre- 

 pared. It promises to be one of the 

 best meetings the National has held in 

 many years. If the honey crop should 

 prove to be a good one between now 

 and that time, the attendance ought to 

 be a record-breaker. 



Many report that their bees are 

 doing well. Today we began extract- 

 ing, and took off a toii of honey. My 

 son, who does all the uncapping, says 

 of all the several methods of uncap- 

 ping honey, he prefers the steam-heated 

 knife. 



Albany, N. Y., has been selected by 

 the Executive Committee as the place 

 of meeting for the National Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association this year. It will be 

 held October 12 and 13, in the Common 

 Council Chamber of the City Hall. 



A bee-keeper sent his National dues 

 claiming he wanted help at once as his 

 swarms alighted on his neighbor's ap- 

 ple-trees, and the neighbor with a re- 

 volver said he would shoot trespassers. 

 He claimed the bees ruined his apples, 

 and sucked the juice from his onions! 

 How is that for charges ? 



The number of copies of the last 

 Annual Report of the National are get- 

 ting low, but so long as there are any 

 left I will mail a copy to each new 

 member. Also, for 4 cents for postage 

 on each copy, I will mail to any one 

 other back numbers of Reports, as 

 there are a few of them still left, if they 

 are ordered. 



Contributed Articles 



Swarms and Swarming— Why 

 Bees Swarm 



BY D. M. MACDONALD. 



An investigation of the prime factors 

 causing swarming may be the best 

 means for clearing the atmosphere and 

 giving us a clearer vision of the whole 

 enigma, because, for all that has been 

 written on the subject, we still only see 

 as through a glass darkly. 



1. Heat is a prime factor beyond a 

 doubt. As certain as that the tempera- 

 ture will rise to a certain height, so 

 certain is it that the feverish spirit of 

 unrest will guide the Spirit of the Hive 

 to teach the prescient little workers 

 that the four corners of their hive is 

 not the whole world ; but that strange 

 fields and pastures new await them, 

 ready to bless, and be blessed, by their 

 welcome labors. 



2. A honey-glut, perhaps unexpected 

 and unannounced comes suddenly on. 

 The queen's domain is appropriated by 

 the laborers that must store the prized 

 nectar in every available cell. With 

 gay abandon cells are formed and the 

 swarming fever is generated, not to be 



allayed until the wise purpose of Crea 

 tion is fulfilled. " Multiply and replen- 

 ish the earth " is their guide and motto. 

 Every single atom of the 40,000 inhabi- 

 tants of that hive has got the sentiment 

 permeating every fibre of its being, and 

 the teeming thousands act as if they 

 were one sentient whole, with every 

 heart and mind bent on one single ob- 

 ject. 



3. Brood congestion, from whatever 

 cause, evolves discontent. So many 

 youngsters issuing cause a glut of the 

 nurse element in the community. The 

 thousands of young bees issuing every 

 24 hours produce too much chyle food, 

 which goes to waste, because others 

 have been before them at every open 

 cell flooding the young larvae with 

 "pap" food. The competition is in 

 fact so keen that the majority of the 

 nurses find their occupation gone, con- 

 sequently too many of the hive inhabi- 

 tants are numbered among the unem- 

 ployed. Satan finds some mischief still 

 for idle bees to do, and so a spirit of 

 discontent and unrest arises because 

 they can neither toil nor spin. There- 

 fore we have another swarming fever 

 generator in this state of congestion. 



