April, l'.n2. 



American ^oe Journal 



notice, and tlie two little boys arc bribed to 

 wdtcli for the swarms which may cotnc out 

 it any time from 7 a.m. to b p. m. Beginning 

 with willows and dandelions, and followed 

 hy fruit-bloom, closer, and raspberry we 

 rome to our main lioney-fiow in this vicitiit>" 

 — basswood— which comes early in .Inly and 

 lasts about 10 days, occasionally followed 

 by alfalfa if the weather is hot and dry 

 This year we had a very heavy flow of fall 

 lioney from boneset. asters and goldenrod. 

 An unusual occurrence was that of almost 

 continual swarming during August. 



As soon as the basswood is over the su- 

 pers are removed and all capped honey 

 taken care of. while the uncapped is put 

 back to be finished up with the fall honey. 

 Comb-honey sections are scraped, graded. 

 and neatly packed either in 12-pound cases 

 or in single paper cartons. The highest 

 grade sells readily at 25 cents per section, 

 and the others according to the Quality. 



The extracted honey is put up in pails 

 holding 10 pounds, labeled, and sells for Si.so 

 per pail. Customers, who year after year 

 order 5 or 6 pails upon receipt of a postal 

 card notifying them that the honey is ready, 

 are plenty, and I have never yet been able 

 to supply the demand for what they know is 

 a strictly pure article. 



The cappings are melted into beeswax, 

 for which we have a standing order at from 

 S to 7 cents above the price paid by the sup- 

 ply-dealers. A most delicious honey-vinegar 

 is made from the washings of the cappings, 

 and is unexcelled for salad and table use. 

 A cough medicine made of extracted honey, 

 flaxseed, and lemon-juice is pronounced by 

 physicians to be superior to anything we 

 can buy. 



Up to this time the bees have been win- 

 tered in the fi uit-cellar under the kitchen, 

 and last winter the 70 colonies wintered 

 there came out in good condition. With the 

 large increase thisfall.it was thought best 

 to build a bee-cellar, and so one was built in 

 a clay bank at a cost of $130. and in it are 

 over 120 colonies, only waiting for the first 

 breath of spring to call both bees and owner 

 to a happy summer. Two years ago a good 

 honey-house was built in which the ex- 

 tracting is done, supplies are stored, and 

 hives made. The latter are bought in the 



flat and made up and painted in the early 

 spring so that all may be in readiness when 

 needed. 



My experience has proved that there is 

 far more profit with less work in bee-keep- 

 ing than in poultry-raising, although the two 

 make a good combination, especially in con- 

 nection with fruit-growing. For the tired, 

 over-worked Iiouse-wife who needs the rest 

 for body and mind, nothing equals a colony 

 or two of bees, whose care calls forth into 

 tbe sunshine and fresh air where God meant 

 his children to live and breathe. Not only 

 will it give an abundant supply of delicious 

 honey for the table and an extra cake for a 

 neighbor, but when Christmas comes it is 

 convenient to have the " honey-money " for 

 an " extra." 



Believing in co-operation in the home as 

 well as in business. I have given to each 

 daughter and our one son a colony of bees, 

 from which they have the honey and in- 

 crease, and in return they give freely of 

 their help when I need it during the swarm- 

 ing or extracting season. One valuable thing 

 about the bee and honey business is that all 

 — even the youngest — may help in making up 

 supplies, and in preparing the honey for 

 market, and in that way gain an interest in 

 the bees themselves. Not only is there good 

 demand for all the honey I can produce, but 

 I can also sell from Sioo to S200 worth of bees 

 during each season. 



Nothing could induce me to give up bee- 

 keeping for. aside from the profit, the larger 

 returns of health and happiness, the pure 

 joy of living In the sunshine and watching 

 the tireless workers as they come in with 

 loads of pollen and nectar outweigh any 

 financial consideration. 



To sum it all up, bee-keeping is pre-emi- 

 nently a ■* woman's job," whether for pleas- 

 ure or profit, or for a combination of both. 

 The financial returns compare favorably 

 with anything else from farm or garden, 

 while to those who love outdoor life bee- 

 keeping is the most fascinating of all avoca- 

 tions. In watching a colony of bees at work 

 the lines of an old. familiar hymn are 

 brought most forcibly to mind : 



'■ God moves in a mysterious way 

 His wonders to perform." 



Bee-Keeping 



In Dixie^ 



Conducted by J. J. Wilder. Cordele, Ga. 



Swarms and Frames of Old Honey 



Mr. Wilder:— I have on hand enough 

 brood-frames entirely filled with old honey 

 to give each new swarm for this season 

 about 4 frames. I can not market this profit- 

 ably at my local market, and my idea is to 

 give each swarm two full frames of honey 

 next to each wall, and use '> full sheets of 

 foundation in the center for brood-rearing. 

 My idea is that this would leave sufficient 

 room for brood in the 4 frames filled with 

 foundation, and that I would get the benefit 

 of the old honey because it would enable 

 them to go right into the second super with 

 tiie new crop. 



I would appreciate very much any sugges- 

 tion that you may make. 



Nashville. Ga. W. E. Morris, Jr. 



I don't like the idea of using full 

 combs of honey only where they are 

 actually needed, for they are space 

 killers when they are placed where 

 they are not needed. Especially is this 

 true in the spring of the year when our 

 queens need all the room possible to 

 keep up bee-production, and a solid 

 frame of honey on either side of the 

 brood-nest would most likely do more 

 harm than good. It might be said that 

 the queen will not occupy these out- 

 side combs but little any way, and the 

 bees will naturally fill them with honey. 

 I will admit that this is true, and will 

 say that right here is where most of 

 the comb-honey producers make a 

 mistake. They should keep these out- 



side combs extracted and insert them 

 in the middle of the brood-nest. This 

 will keep brood-rearing at the highest 

 possible pitch, and best results will be 

 obtained. 



The best way I see to dispose of 

 these heavy combs of honey would be 

 to give them, as you suggest, but give 

 them to the small swarms or the last 

 swarms hived. They won't have time, 

 perhaps, to build all the combs and 

 store enough honey to tide them on, 

 and they will need these combs of 

 honey, and will serve the best purpose 

 here. 



Transferring Bees 



Dear Mr. Wilder;— I have 4 colonies of 

 bees in old box-hives, and I want to transfer 

 them into mo.1ern ones. When would you 

 do this ? How would you drive them out of 

 the box-hives ? 



I don't fully understand what the division- 

 board is used for. 



Would you advise using 8 or lu frame 

 hives ? Would you stock with better queens 

 now. or later in the season ^ 



Lawrenceville. Ga. K. A. Di:nagan. 



Now (March 18) or within 30 days 

 will be a good time to transfer bees, I 

 would smoke the bees well in the old 

 box-hive, and place it on the ground 

 on its side about 2 feet from its stand, 

 and place the new hive on the old 



stand with entrance turned in the same 

 direction the old one was, so the re- 

 turning bees can find it easily. Then 

 with ax or hatchet split the old hive 

 open, and with the hands spread it out 

 on the ground, and you will have easy 

 access to all the comb as well as the 

 bees, and as the coirib is removed the 

 bees can be brushed in front of the 

 new hive and will march in. Two or 

 3 pieces of the best brood should be fit 

 in the frames of the new hives and set 

 l)ack in it to serve as a starter for them 

 in the new quarters. 



The honey can be marketed, or left 

 out for the bees to carry back into their 

 new hive, and the cotnbs rendered into 

 wax. 



If you will rob the old bo.x-hives 

 close, a day or so before transferring, 

 you will not have a messy job trans- 

 ferring. The division-board is used 

 only on the outside of the frames, and 

 should be wedged up against them, 

 whether a part or all the frames are in 

 the hive. Then when it is removed the 

 frames can be easily removed and the 

 colony of bees examined at any time. 



For the average location the 8-frame 

 hive is large enough, but in localities 

 where the honey-flow is heavy, and of 

 short duration, the 10-frame hive might 

 be best in the production of section- 

 comb honey, or extracted honey; but 

 for chunk honey the 8-frame body and 

 a super of shallow extracting combs is 

 the best, and the storing room added 

 as it is needed. 



I find it best to look after my stock 

 and introduce queens later in the sea- 

 son, when queens are cheaper and 

 more easily obtained. 



Pacl(ing Bulk-Comb Honey 



Mr. J. J. Wilder;— I 'notice that you are 

 an extensive producer of bulk-comb honey, 

 and I want to ask you how you pack it for 

 the local trade, and what style and size 

 packages you use. S. A. Hall. 



Lisbon. Fla. 



If the honey is light in color I pack 

 it in pint and quart Mason fruit-jars, 

 which are easily obtained at almost any 

 grocery store, and at very reasonable 

 prices. The Mason fruit-jars are com- 

 mon utensils for holding liquids, in 

 every household, and to obtain the jars 

 for future use with the honey, is no 

 small inducement to the purchaser. 



The comb honey is prepared by cut- 

 ting it in strips as long as the jars are 

 deep, and about 1 or 1 '4 inches wide, 

 which are then placed in the jars care- 

 fully endwise, then enough extracted 

 honey poured over the comb to fill the 

 jars. This makes a very attractive 

 package when the honey is very fancy. 



Dark honey I put up in the same 

 manner, using 'Z and 3 pound large- 

 mouth friction-top cans, and 5, 10 and 

 20 pound large-mouth pails. 



Bee-Keeping as a Business 



Mr. Wilder: — I know you must be a busy 

 man, but may be you can answer a few 

 questions which will help me so much, and 

 I will greatly appreciate it. 



I have been a poultryman for 7 years, and 

 during the last few years I have kept a few 

 bees also, and find that bee-keeping pays 

 me much better than poultry, and I am going 

 to "keep more bees." I thought when 1 

 started bee-keeping that I would not like it 

 much, but the longer I keep bees the better 

 1 like it. It is indeed very interesting, and. 



