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(Entered as second-class matter at the Post-office at Hamilton, 111., under Act of March a. 1879.) 



Published Monthly at $1.00 a Year, by American Bee Journal, First National Bank Building 



C. p. DADANT. Editor. 



DR C. C. MILLKR. Associate Editor. 



HAMILTON, ILL., MAY, 1915 



Vol. LV..— Ho. 5 



Editorial 



Comments 



Sprayiug' in Mas.sachusetts 



The State Board of Agriculture 

 of Massachusetts has issued a fine 

 poster in colors for the informa- 

 tion of fruit growers, advising them 

 to spray their fruit trees and warn- 

 ing them against spraying during 

 bloom. Such a poster, issued by each 

 State Board of Agriculture, would do 

 much good. We quote one of its rec- 

 ommendations : 



" Never allow your trees to be 

 sprayed while the large pink or white 

 blossoms are still on them, for the job 

 will not be so well done; less fruit 

 will be set, and many bees may be 

 killed. Spraying just after the blos- 

 soms have fallen gives better protec- 

 tion from the apple worm, saves the 

 bees and sets more fruit." 



The Southeru Heiui-spliere 



The New Zealand Farmer for March 

 contains interesting articles on "Water 

 Content of Honey," Statistics on Ex- 

 port, " Forty Years of Beekeeping in 

 New Zealand," by I. Hopkins, and a 

 number of other valuable items inter- 

 esting to beekeepers. It seems a little 

 strange to us, on the north side of the 

 equator, to read of their fall crops and 

 winter preparation in March, April, 

 and May. 



Seftious Iroin ^Vlli^•ll the Coiubs 

 Have Beeu Cut 



Unfinished sections from which the 

 bees have emptied the honey in the 

 fall, if in perfect condition, are a val- 

 uable asset for use in the next summer. 

 From this it would seem a pretty safe 

 guess that if the sections be cut out. 



leaving the margin of the comb on all 

 sides, the bees would use them in a 

 satisfactory manner. But one is not 

 always safe in guessing, and submit- 

 ing a thing to the bees may tell a dif- 

 ferent story. According to the experi- 

 ence of W. S. Pangburn. using such 

 sections is not a success — ^at least not 

 always. He says: 



" In filling some supers I was short a 

 few sections. Having a few nice clean 

 ones from which we had used the 

 honey, and which had from >s to % 

 inch of comb still remaining on all 

 four sides, I placed one of these in the 

 center of probably six supers, the rest 

 of the sections being filled a la Miller, 

 which, by the way, is the only way I 

 have been able to produce a fancy and 

 No. 1 article, and I have tried all ways, 

 I guiss. Imagine my surprise on run- 

 ning these supers to find perhaps one- 

 half of these sections just as I put them 

 on, with the balance of the super com- 

 pleted. 



"Strange, isn't it? But, after all, 

 bees, like people, do strange things 

 sometimes and keep us guessing why. 

 It wasn't a success with me this year 

 on a small scale. Next year it might 

 work, but, then, I don't know.' " 



Observing' Hives 



The reader will kindly refer to Dr. 

 Miller's " Question and Answer De- 

 partment," and read the paragraph en- 

 titled, " First Queen Destroys Other 

 Cells." It is that paragraph which 

 prompts the present editorial on " Ob- 

 serving Hives." 



Many people imagine that an observ- 

 ing hive may be made by using glass 

 instead of wood in the side or end 

 walls of an ordinary hive. But a true 



observing liive is one in wliich no part 

 of the brood-chamber is hidden from 

 the owner. The right kind of observ- 

 ing hive — and every beekeeper ought 

 to use one — is made with only one 

 frame with glass on both sides. Such 

 hives are sold by many dealers or they 

 may be made at home very cheaply. 

 During the latter part of this month, in 

 our northern countries, or in early 

 June, is the proper time to supply such 

 a hive with bees. Go to a strong col- 

 ony and take out one of its center 

 combs with plenty of bees, with or 

 without the queen. By pbcing it in 

 the observing hive and keeping it 

 about 48 hours in the cellar we will 

 have a little colony which may be set 

 before a window with a tube for the 

 bees to reach the outside. Or it may 

 he put in a corner of the back porch, 

 or in the yard, on a stand sufficiently 

 raised that we may sit by it on a chair 

 and spend hours watching the bees at 

 work. Both sides should be available. 

 We will see the queen lay, and when 

 she is removed we will see the bees 

 rearing queen-cells. 



If we wish to rear queens in it, the 

 little colony must be made strong by 

 shaking young bees in front of it. Bees 

 that have never yet taken a flight will 

 remain where put, and we may thus 

 obtain a little colony so strong that it 

 will rear as good queen-cells as the 

 best of our coloni -s. There is no end 

 to the pleasure and information to be 

 derived from such a hive, and you will 

 entertain not only the members of the 

 family but visitors as well. None of 

 the "mysteries " of queen-rearing will 

 be hidden from you, and you will be 

 able to verify many of the statements 

 made by authorities of the natural his- 

 tory of the honey-bee. Many of the 

 experienced beekeepers have used 

 these observing hives season after sea- 

 son. The cost is small and the pleas- 



