160 



May, 19ir,. 



American Hee Jonrnal 



renter, and the owner furnishes the 

 paint. 



If losses from the original number of 

 colonies are suffered the renter should 

 not stand this unless it is caused by 

 his negligence or carelessness. Sup- 

 pose that the renter tlirough inexperi- 

 ence or carelessness allows foiilbrood 

 to gain a foothold, and a lot of the 

 combs have to be melted up and the 

 number of the colonies of the bees is 

 depleted, should the renter have half 

 of the wax from those combs ? There 



are cases where disagreement may oc- 

 cur unless all such points are men- 

 tioned in the contract. 



If the renter of the bees is compe- 

 tent he deserves a larger share than 

 one-half the surplus. In parts of the 

 West the renter, if competent and 

 trustworthy, can secure for the owner 

 good interest on the investment and 

 have two-thirds of the surplus for him- 

 self. In this case, of course, the renter 

 should furnish two-thirds of the sup- 

 plies. 



Bee-Keeping 



In Dixie^ 



Conducted by J. J Wilder. Cordele. Ga 



Late Season 



This is one of the most backward 

 seasons we have ever had, with almost 

 steady cold weather up to the time 

 when we might expect almost settled 

 weather. These warm spells were very 

 short; just long enough to cause the 

 first honey plants to bud and bloom 

 (such as huckleberry and titi), and as a 

 result much of the bloom was killed by 

 the heavy freeze which followed. This 

 shortened the flow considerably, and, 

 too, bees were kept from the field. 

 Honey plants were nearly half done 

 blooming by the time the bees could 

 reach them. Nevertheless the honey 

 flow has been as good as we ever saw 

 it at this time of the year, and reports 

 show that this is general throughout 

 the South. As our best honey plants 

 usually bloom when we may expect 

 settled warm weather, they will be 

 much later than usual, and prospects 

 are good for at least an average crop 

 of honey. 



As a rule, bees had run short of 



stores too soon, and there was much 

 loss in brood-rearing and loss of col- 

 onies during the latter part of the cold 

 weather, which would not have been 

 the case had there been a few warm 

 days. 



*-•-#' 



Comb or Extracted Honey Which? 



"As I have not had any experience 

 with bees, I thought I had better start 

 with two colonies, one for comb honey 

 and the other for extracted ; or would 

 it be advisable to have both hives for 

 the same kind of honey.'' Which would 

 be best ? What size of hive should I 

 use? 



"Would it be a good idea for me to 

 get a glass hive so I could watch the 

 bees ? Where could I get two colonies 

 of Italian bees, and what should they 

 cost me ? What should my outfit con- 

 sist of as a starter ?" R. P. Cotter. 



Barnesville, Ga. 



It is best for the beginner to start 

 by producing chunk honey, using the 

 regular shallow extracting super and 



frames for storing, and not less than 

 two supers to each colony. This is the 

 simplest and easiest way to produce 

 honey, and, of course, best for those 

 less enlightened in bee culture. You 

 could hardly be successful producing 

 comb honey in 1-pound sections in 

 your locality, and with such an ar- 

 rangement as I suggest there would be 

 no change necessary to run for ex- 

 tracted honey later, as the same size of 

 super and frames would be best. 



In Dixie, where we have no disease 

 to fight or winter problems to solve, it 

 does not matter whether a beginner 

 starts with 2 or 20 colonies. I rather 

 favor a larger number where a begin- 

 ner desires a good start. Eight-frame 

 hives and supers would be better in 

 your locality than the lOframe size. 



Yes, it would be a splendid idea to 

 get an observation hive and keep it in 

 a convenient place where you can 

 watch the working force of the colony 

 as you study the bee publications and 

 get experience in handling them. It 

 will also aid you in the study of 

 the pasturage of your country, which 

 you must know. I always used a 

 1-frame glass hive, as it would admit 

 of a more open and convenient inspec- 

 tion, and I always kept it as strong as 

 possible. 



It is always more economical to get 

 bees close to home. As a rule they 

 can be obtained cheaper, and there are 

 no transport ition charges. Bees in 

 box hives can be purchased at $1.00 to 

 $1.50 per hive. In modern hives from 

 $3.50 to $5 00, and good queens can be 

 obtained at $1.25. You should have at 

 least one book on bee culture, and 

 should subscribe for a bee-paper. A 

 bee-veil, a smoker, hive tool, aside 

 from hives, etc., are necessary. 



SAN REMO. (Taken by Mr. Cappoiii.) 



The Grey Caucasian Bee 



This variety of the Caucasian bee 

 seems to be in the lead in point of 

 quality, both in this country and their 

 own. Their color is against them, as 

 it is so much like that of our native or 

 German bee. With only a few bees in 

 a cage with the queen, the purchaser 

 who is not familiar with them, con- 

 cludes that the breeder has sent him a 

 queen of the common dark bees, and 

 to some degree he feels like he has 

 been wronged by him. This is nat- 

 ural. One of the most attractive things 

 about the Italian bees is their beautiful 

 yellow color, and in the better bees we 

 have learned to look for it. -In this 

 particular the Caucasian bee brings 

 disappointment; but of late the " yel- 

 low" stock is condemned all over our 

 country, and we are now looking more 

 for quality and less for appearance. So 

 we cannot fall out much with them on 

 account of their dark color, if they 

 have the quality. 



After handling this bee for a number 

 of seasons, I can truthfully say that I 

 prefer their deep steel color to the 

 bright yelliiiv color of the Italians, be- 

 cause tlie color is more even through- 

 out the apiary except in the case of the 

 older bees crawling about on the comb 

 which have a very dark glossy color, 

 the hairy coating of the abdomen hav- 

 ing left them, and at times thousands 

 of these old slick black bees appear 

 which represent the oldest of the field- 



