Novcnil)er, iqto. 



American Hee Journal 



ed out by bee-men that is a great suc- 

 cess among other products, is the 

 pushing of special deals at certain times 

 of the year; say that with every 10 

 cases of' honey bought at any one time 

 we would give one free case, it would 

 be a great incentive to handle a larger 

 stock of honey, and the reason more 

 honey is not sold in many a store is 

 because the grocer has such a small 

 stock on hand that it does not attract 

 the attention of customers. If we could 

 get some of the slow-going grocers 

 stocked up on honey the vvfay they 

 stock up on canned goods, there would 

 be a great deal more effort made to 

 move honey. There are some objec- 

 tions to this, for honey in glass candies 

 so readily, and comb honey is not easy 

 to keep in nice shape. These disad- 

 vantages will be overcome soon, 

 though, for grocers are fast learning 

 to care for honey properly, and they 

 will handle it as well as bee-keepers 

 when they have to keep a good stock 

 on hand to supply the demand coming 

 from the consumers, when we get peo- 

 ple accustomed to eating honey in 

 larger quantities. 



The whole thing for the bee-keepers 

 to accomplish is an adaptation of the 

 producing and selling methods of our 

 large food canners and manufacturers 

 to the individual and collective needs 

 of the bee-men. 



We must produce a better article; 

 we must study the market and supply 

 it with the class of goods that will sell 

 to best advantage ; we must follow 

 business-like selling plans; we must 

 get away from the wasteful competi- 

 tion of a dozen bee-men peddling their 

 honey of various kinds and quality 

 around in the same territory; w'e must 

 realize trade conditions and know 

 what relation other sweets bear to 

 honey, and the etTect of hard times on 

 honey consumption; we must have a 

 vivid realization of the importance of 

 attractiveness, and an air of quality 

 that inheres in a well-designed and 

 tasteful label with the brand and bot- 

 tler's or company name in plain type. 

 In fact, if we are to get the big rewards 

 for our work we must be progressive, 

 and take on and adapt the new ideas 

 that others about us are working. 



We do not need to be original these 

 days to succeed ; in fact, safety lies in 

 following the methods that have proven 

 to be winners among lines of business 

 similar to ours. It would not do any 

 harm for the bee-keepers to send for 

 the literature and deals that the corn 

 syrup and glucose interests send out; 

 they are certainly going after the busi- 

 ness. Ever notice how they advertise 

 their syrup when cool weather comes, 

 right at the time when honey should 

 go onto those hot cakes and biscuits ? 

 Advertisements covering valuable space 

 in the magazines tell about corn syrup 

 being the best spread for bread and 

 hot cakes, and recipe booklets are sent 

 out telling how almost every food can 

 be better prepared by using corn syrup! 

 They send out demonstrators who 

 carry on free demontrations in the 

 grocery stores; then they send out 

 men from house to house giving out 

 samples, taking orders to be delivered 

 through the grocer, giving pie plates, 

 steam cookers, fireless cookers, etc., 

 as premiums. Do you wonder that 



they sell immense quantities of their 

 syrups when they can do such adver- 

 tising and still give a pint can of syrup 

 for 10 cents ? 



We have a product far superior in 

 merit, and one that can be made the 

 subject of effective advertising; in this 

 respect we have the advantage over the 

 glucose people — we can talk ijualily, 

 which appeals almost as much as price. 

 We have not the range of profit, but we 

 have much that can be accomplished. 

 When we have done what we can do 

 at present, the chances are that the 

 price of honey will be where we can 

 afford to spend good sums in advertis- 

 ing. 



Boulder, Colo. 



Some Questions on Prevention 

 of Swarms 



BY DR. C. C. MILLER. 



Whenever I see the name of D. M. 

 Macdonald attached to an article, my 

 interest is always awakened, and I vvas 

 especially interested in a well-consid- 

 ered article contributed by him to the 

 September number. Upon one point I 

 wish he would give us more light. 



He says : "The rearing of a virgin 

 in the supers, and allowing her to de- 

 pose the old queen, works favorably." 

 Does he mean that he generally suc- 

 ceeds in getting such virgin to super- 

 sede the reigning queen ? and can he 

 do this early enough in the season to 

 prevent swarming ? 



Mr. Doolittle has said that if a virgin 

 is given after the harvest to a colony 

 having a queen ready to be superseded, 

 the virgin so given would become the 

 reigning monarch. However success- 

 ful this may be in his hands, I must 

 confess general failure. I have no 

 difficulty in getting a very young queen 

 accepted kindly, but somehow within a 

 short time she disappears. Even if I 

 were successful in the fall, I might not 

 succeed early enough to prevent swarm- 

 ing, although I have great faith 

 there would be no swarming in a col- 

 ony which would allow a virgin to 

 supersede its laying queen early in the 

 harvest. If there is some trick about 

 it that I have not learned, perhaps Mr. 

 Macdonald can help me out. 



Mr. Macdonald says: "Generally, 

 they are allowed some comb-building— 

 an important desideratum, which, given, 

 hinders a spirit of unrest from being 

 generated." 



I wonder, now, whether there is a 

 difference in the two countries as to 

 this matter of comb building. Supply- 

 ing 2 or 3 frames of foundation, he 

 says, frequently tides over the critical 

 period. With me the critical period 

 generally does not come until the bees 

 begin work in the supers, and the comb 

 building in a super of sections is equiv- 

 alent to that in 3 brood-frames. When, 

 therefore, the comb building in the 

 supers amounts to as much as in 6 up 

 to 30 brood-frames, one would think 

 that the building of 3 frames in the 

 brood-chamber would not make such 

 a great difference Moreover, my bees 

 show a strong preference for old 

 combs, and I like to gratify their tastes. 

 I never yet discarded a brood-comb 

 for no other reason than because it 



was old. Still, that does not prove 

 that giving foundation in the brood- 

 chamber may not be a help toward 

 swarm prevention, and as I think more 

 about it I am more inclined to believe 

 in it. Although I do not often put 

 foundation in the brood-nest, I have 

 put full-drawn empty combs there. 

 The bees are likely to fill them with 

 honey instead of brood, at least at first. 

 They haven't the same chance to crowd 

 the queen out by filling the foundation 

 with honey. 



Our friend says: "I have no love 

 for cutting out queen-cells to suppress 

 incipient thoughts of swarming. It is 

 a messy job, and fails frequently." I've 

 puzzled no little over those two sen- 

 tences, and wish I knew just what he 

 means. When he calls it a messy job, 

 that sounds as if he literally cuts out 

 the cells with a knife. But of course 

 that can not be, for he is no raw be- 

 ginner. 'Very little disturbance of a 

 queen-cell is enough to make the bees 

 empty it, and a thrust into the cell with 

 a hive-tool is quickly made without any 

 mussiness. As to its being a preven- 

 tion of swarming, it can not be de- 

 pended upon. Yet it succeeds in so 

 many cases that I think a good deal 

 more of it than I used to. This year 

 there were not a few cases in which 

 cells were killed only a single time, 

 and then there was no further attempt 

 at swarming. If a single colony can 

 be prevented from swarming, and that 

 colony then produces 100 to 200 sec- 

 tions of honey, I feel paid for all the 

 cell-killing done in a number of colo- 

 nies. 



In one place Mr. Macdonald says: "I 

 have ' shook ' swarmed." Et tu. Brute! 

 Such language from the scholarly 

 Scotchman ! I can forgive much, but— 



Marengo, 111. 



Souvenir Bee Postal Cards 



We have 4 Souvenir Postal Cards of 

 interest to bee-keepers. No. 1 is a 

 Teddy Bear card, with stanza of poetry, 

 a straw bee-hive, a jar and section of 

 honey, etc. It is quite sentimental. 

 No. 2 has the words and music of the 

 song, "The Bee-Keeper's Lullaby ;" No. 

 3, the words and music of "Buckwheat 

 Cakes and Honey;" and No. 4, the 

 words and music of "The Humming 

 of the Bees." We send these cards, 

 postpaid, as follows: 4 cards for 10 

 cents, 10 cards for 20 cents ; or 10 cards 

 with the American Bee Journal one 

 year for $1.10. Send all orders to the 

 office of the American Bee Journal, 146 

 W. Superior St., Chicago, 111. 



" Bee-Keepers' Guide " 



This book on bees is also known as 

 the "Manual of the Apiary." It is iri- 

 structive, interesting, and both practi- 

 cal and scientific. On the anatomy and 

 physiology of the bee it is more com- 

 plete than any other standard Ameri- 

 can bee-book. Also the part on honey- 

 producing plants is exceptionally fine. 

 Every bee-keeper should have it in his 

 library. It has 544 pages, and 295 illus- 

 trations. Bound in cloth. Price, post- 

 paid, $1.20; or with a year's subscrip- 

 tion to the American Bee Journal — both 

 for $1.90. Send all orders to the office 

 of the American Bee Journal, 146 West 

 Superior St., Chicago, 111. 



