Mav, l'.M3. 



American Vee Journal 



Wlieii bees have any experience with 

 fire, isn't that the end of the hees '. and 

 how much wonld their descendants (?) 

 remember about it ?) 



The cappings from IMio pounds of 

 extracted honey yielded lo>2 pounds of 

 choice yellow beeswax. 



"First Lessons in Bee-Keeping." — In 



a kindly notice of this work, the Irish 

 Bee Journal says : 



"In many respects it apDroximates so 

 closely to the teaching with wliich we are 

 familiar in those countries that, making al- 

 lowance ff>r llie difference in size and make 

 of Amtrican liives and appliances, this 

 handbook iTiight serve a useful purpose in 



the hands of beginners over here The 



book is lilierally illustrated, well turned 

 out. and inexpensive. We should expect it 

 to reacli a large circulation in the land of its 

 birth." 



Colorado Convention. — The spring 

 meeting of the Colorado State Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will be held in 

 Montrose, Colo., Friday and Saturday, 

 May 10 and 11, 1912. The Montrose 

 County Bee-Keepers' Association will 

 be the host of the State Association. 

 It is desired that every bee-keeper on 

 the eastern side of the mountains 

 take the trip to Montrose and see this 

 country. Homeseekers' rates will ap- 

 ply on the Denver & Rio Grande rail- 

 road from Denver, Colorado Springs, 

 and Pueblo. Tliese rates are good for 

 30 days. I would suggest that the way 

 to go is via Marshall Pass, and return 

 by way of Grand Junction over Ten- 

 nessee Pass. More of the country can 

 be seen this way. 



The Western Slope bee-keepers in 

 Montezuma, La Plata, Montrose, Delta, 

 Mesa and Garfield counties are urged 

 to turn out in full force. This will be 

 a live meeting, and you will regret it if 

 you do not attend. Wesley Foster. 



Boulder, Colo. 



Bee-I^eping <^ For Women 



Commissioner Albert J. Cook. — The 



man who has been known so long and 

 so lovingly atnong bee-keepers as Prof. 

 Cook, is no longer to be known merely 

 under that title. It seems that out in 

 California they have for governor a 

 man of discernment, who knows a 

 good thing when he sees it, and when 

 Gov. Johnson wanted to find a man to 

 fill a position that he says is " one of 

 the most imiiortant offices in the State," 

 it is nothing strange that his glance 

 should fall upon our old friend, and 

 that he should say, " There's the very 

 man to fill the ollice of Commissioner 

 of Horticulture, with the responsibility 

 of appointing capable men as assis- 

 tants, and disposing each year of the 

 serious amount of $10(),lli)(l in carrying 

 out the work of his department." Safe 

 to say, there will be no misappropria- 

 tion of funds, but every cent of that 

 line hundred thousand will be placed 

 where it will do the most good, not to 

 Prof. Cook — beg pardon, Commissioner 

 Cook — but to the people of California. 



There is little danger that all interest 

 in bees will die out of the heart of a 

 man who had so great love for them, 

 and in his new position it is entirely 

 within the possibilities that opportuni- 

 ties may arise to do many a good turn 

 for California bee-keepers, if not for 

 the bee-keepers of the world. Blessings 

 on his liead ! 



Conducted bv Miss Emma M. Wilson, Marengo. 111. 



Trouble With Mice Alsike Clover 



We put our bees in winter quarters late in 

 December Uhey kept flying around until that 

 timei. and today they had their Hrst cleans- 

 ing flight. We examined them all, and found 

 3 colonies out of 12 alive. We will have 

 plenty of honey from the other hives to feed 

 the 3. We found 2 large mice, which had 

 their nest made from the packing in a super, 

 (I wonder if Dr. Miller would answer " I 

 don't know" if one should ask him how a 

 giantmousecan pass through a regular open- 

 ing in a Langstroth hive.) 'Finy cockroaches 

 were in evidence, also. 



We have heard that white animals, and 

 animals with white feet, become sick while 

 on alsike clover pasture. I asked a farmer, 

 who called here, how it happened to make 

 white animals sick, and not those of other 

 colors, and he said that bees work on alsike 

 clover, and when the animals approach the 

 bees they sting them, causing their flesh to 

 swell, and they become very sick. He said 

 lie had a nice colt get very sick, and he 

 called in a veterinary surgeon, who asked 

 what kind of pasture it was on. When he 

 said alsike clover, he gave the above expla- 

 nation. Perhaps you knew about it before 

 now. It is much to be regretted, for the 

 most beautiful honey I ever had was gath- 

 ered from alsike clover, I think. 



One summer I took honey to town, and 

 watched the clerk remove it from the crate 

 — 10^3 pounds in iff sections-the most beau- 

 tiful honey I ever saw. He asked me if I 

 fed the bees? 'We had been taking sacks 

 of granulated sugar in exchange for part of 

 our honey. As I was leaving the grocery 

 the owner said. "I want you to tell ine how 

 the bees itnikc that nice honey." I answered. 

 " I do not know. Why ? Isn't all the honey 

 you get like that?" He said. " I guess not." 

 " Well. I can not tell you unless the bees get 

 it from an alsike clover field about one-half 

 inile from them. " There is little alsike and 

 alfalfa near here. (Mrs.) Ida Kitt. 



Albion. Ind.. March 18. 



To have only .S colonies left out of 12 

 is rather discouraging. But you prob- 

 ably have plenty of company if there is 

 any comfort in that. .-\ day or two ago 

 a report came of one apiary of 7-5 colo- 

 nies, and they were all dead. At any 

 rate, you will have the fun of building 

 up again and getting those 9 empty 

 hives filled with bees. Be sure not to 

 let those empty combs become victims 

 of the bee-moth. 



Dr. Miller, upon being asked how a 

 giant mouse can pass through a regular 

 opening in a Langstroth hive said, "I 

 don't know whether there ought to be 

 any difficulty in the case or not, for I 

 don't know the size of the opening. It 

 may be anywhere from ■)« to -'4 inch in 

 height. Anyway, it must be remem- 

 bered that the head is about all there is 

 of a mouse so far as getting through a 

 crack is concerned, for once it gets its 

 head through, the rest of its body can 

 be flattened out so as to go through 

 easily." 



Right here it may be no harm tn tell 

 you a little secret, if you cross your 

 heart not to tell. That is, that Dr. 

 Miller is always ready to help answer 

 any question that comes in this de- 

 partment. Indeed, the probability is 

 that if there is any difference, he gives 

 a little more attention to them than he 

 does to questions in his own depart- 

 ment, for he is old fashioned enough 

 to believe in the motto, " Ladies first." 



With regard to hees stinging ani- 

 mals with white feet, it may be a pretty 

 safe guess to say that the whole thing 

 is a mistake. In the first place, it is 

 generally believed that the bees are 

 more likely to sting anything dark than 

 light. In the second place, no bee at 

 work upon flowers will ever volunteer 

 an attack. The only way you could get 

 such a bee to sting a horse's foot would 

 be to catch the bee and hold it against 

 the foot. So I believe the whole thing 

 is a myth. 



Swarming— Prevention Not Cure 



One's pleasure in life comes largely 

 from the degree of success he has with 

 his efforts. I wanted to playwith bees, 

 and my aim was to have the super well 

 filled with honey, but swarming was 

 the result. I gave the bees shade from 

 the hot sun, air by raising the hive, but 

 the description following shows the 

 sequel. In the autumn I put them up as 

 carefully as I could, from the reading I 

 had done. They are in Norfolk, Conn., 

 which is 1400 feet above sea level, and 

 we have a short season, and if I have 

 any bees alive when I take them out of 

 winter quarters, I propose to feed them. 



Here is the story of the bees : 



May 9th. — One colony of Italian bees with 

 a clipped queen arrived at 2 p.m. from Phil- 

 adelphia by express. They were carried to 

 an empty barn nearthe 01 chard and put into 

 a dark room; at s o'clock the win-netting 

 was taken off. cover and bottom board ad- 

 justed, and they were carrieil to the or- 

 chard. As there seemed to be absolutely 

 nothing for them to feed on, as almost noth- 

 ingwasin leaf. I used an .-Mexander feeder 

 and gave them daily a cupful of syrup of 

 granulated sugar, one to three, until the ap- 

 ple-trees began to bud. 



May 22d— When the blossoins began to drop, 

 and the trees had to be sprayed. I brought 

 them to my house about half a mile away. 

 The process of moving was rather bungled, 

 so it was impossible to place them that nigtit 

 where they were to remain, and the hive 

 was put into the garage and Ufi until the 

 next night, when they were put in their 

 proper place. The super was put on soon 

 after. 



June iSth —The bees swarmed. I looked in 

 vain on the grass ami everywhere for the 

 clipped queen, in a little while the s«'arm 

 went back Jo the hive. I took off the cover 

 and began looking for the tiui-rn. on the 

 fourth frame I found her. I took that frame 

 with her on it. and i other frames full of 

 bees and put them into the hi\c about 30 feet 

 away. I put 4 fresh foundation frames in 

 the old hive. ICverything went along very 

 quietly until June 27th. when a swarm came 

 out of hive No. 2. in which was the clipped 

 (lueeiL That swarm 1 hived in the normal 

 way by shaking it into a sheet in front of the 

 hive. After dark I uio\-ed it on to its stand, 



luly ,ld. -A small swarm came from hive 

 No. 2. but it got away before I had time to 

 get it; of course, the clipped queen did not 

 fly away with it, 



July I2tli.— There were so many bees hang- 

 ing on the outside of hive No. 2, that I went 

 through the 10 frames to see if I could (ind 

 the clipped queen, or any other. 1 couldn't. 



Gerhaps because it was my first attempt. 

 lU I cut out everytliing that looked like a 

 queen-cell, anti shook the bees off of \ 

 frames before the parent hive— as I thought 

 that the weaker colony — I didn't know 

 whether there was a queen on ilu-m or not. 

 but I wanted to relieve the congestion, I 

 think they stayed there; at any rate, there 



