)iil.v. Iiil2. 



American Hee Journal 



reciting his experience, than the most 

 polished article by a literary genius. 

 As to the clipping out of unnecessary 

 words, trust us to do that for you. If 

 you look closely, you may discover 

 that we have done this already. — Edi- 

 tor I 



Crop Rather Short and Late 



What a contrast in weather condi- 

 tions of the May just passed as com- 

 pared with the May of 1911. Last year 

 It was hot. and the ground as dry as a 

 bone during all the period referred to ; 

 in fact, nearly all through June and 

 July as well. This year cool and rainy 

 —rainy for days at a time — and the 

 bees had but about one day in si.\ to 

 get out to the willow and fruit blos- 

 soms. At this writing, June 11, there 

 are signs of dry weather, and the 

 ground is beginning to bake hard 

 where the soil is of a heavy clay loam. 



The honey season, if we have one, 

 will be late, as the clover is just begin- 

 ning to show a blossom here and there. 

 I should say that, on the whole, the rainy 

 weather of May has improved condi- 

 tions for the bee-keeper, as the clover 

 has picked up considerably; as for this 



spring's seeding it is coming on finely, 

 which condition augurs well for next 

 year as a great clover year. Bees are 

 in good shape, generally speaking, 

 although there are some isolated cases 

 where heavy losses have occurred. 



The Demaree Plan— One Fault 



The Demaree plan of keeping down 

 swarming is mentioned in the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal for June. It will work 

 well except for one difficulty hard to 

 overcome in most sections. While 

 many claim to have </// the old honey 

 out of the brood-nest by the time 

 clover opens, that is a condition I have 

 never yet seen in any large apiary. The 

 result is, especially if you use a deep 

 frame — that a considerable quantity of 

 dandelion or other dark honey will be 

 in the brood-combs that are raised 

 above the queen-excluder, and this will 

 darken the clover honey when ex- 

 tracted together. Where color is no 

 object, the Demaree plan is the surest 

 and simplest plan I know of to con- 

 trol swarming. But a/zcays leave at 

 least one comb of brood below, as with 

 full sheets of foundation, the bees may 

 neglect the lower chamber altogether, 

 the queen may disappear, and the col- 

 ony be ruined. 



Southern 



Beedom^ 



Cnnducted by Louis H. ScHOI.i . New liraiuitels. Tex. 



I 



How Many Colonies for a Living? 



Of the many questions propounded 

 to us this is one of the most common, 

 and it is a difficult one to answer. 

 There is so much that must be con- 

 sidered, so much that hinges on the 

 subject as to how many colonies are 

 necessary to afford a living for their 

 owner. 



While one person may be possessed 

 of sufficient executive ability to enable 

 him to manage a thousand colonies 

 very easily, there are many .who can 

 not manage more than a few hundred. 

 L'pon this then depends, to some ex- 

 tent, tlie kind of a living one may ex- 

 pect to make from bee-keeping. 



It is well to remember, however, that 

 the mere matter of being able to look 

 after large numbers of colonies is not 

 the only factor that must be considered. 

 There are bee-keepers who make more 

 profit from a less number of colonies 

 by following intensive bee-keeping. 

 The bee-keeper who manages larger 

 numbers, in a manner by which much 

 loss through waste is allowed, may not 

 make profits equal to the intensive bee- 

 keeper with far less colonies. 



He who has started right, with only 

 a few colonies of bees, and has grad- 

 ually worked himself into the business, 

 will find that he can manage just a few 

 more colonies each year, thus increas- 

 ing his number to many hundreds, if 

 his skill permits it. Such a one would 

 be fullv able to look after 500 colonies 



properly, with some additional help 

 during the busy season, of course. 



Generally speaking, we may place the 

 average yield at $.j per colony, or 

 $2,300. Deducting about 2.j percent as 

 an approximate expense of labor and 

 cost of production, interest on capital 

 invested, and depreciation from wear 

 of supplies and appliances, the net in- 

 come would be about $187'). These are 

 only estimated figures, and due allow- 

 ance must be made for the location 

 and the forage in reach of the bees, as 

 well as the favorableness of the year. 



Numerous factors have a bearing on 

 the honey yield in any locality, such as 

 weather conditions, precipitation or 

 rainfall. Atmospheric conditions in 

 some instances may not be just right 

 during the blooming period of the 

 flora from which the honey yield is ex- 

 pected. Taking all these things into 

 consideration, a sufficient conclusion 

 may be drawn as to how many colo- 

 nies may be kept for a living. 



Go Out and Visit, or Travel 



Did it ever occur to you that a per- 

 son who stays continually at home and 

 does not go out into the world, gen- 

 erally becomes more easily dissatisfied 

 with his business, yes, even with him- 

 self and his surroundings ? A person 

 constantly "pegging away " at home, 

 without a frequent change to rouse 

 him up, becomes narrow in his views, 

 "sot in his ways," and is easily dis- 



couraged under the slightest provoca- 

 tion. 



The secret of success in up-to-date 

 bee-keeping is not found in simply 

 binding one's self down to every day 

 hard toil the year around. The men 

 who are the most successful in their 

 business ventures are, as a general 

 rule, those who get out frequently and 

 "rub up against" and get acquainted 

 with "doings" outside of their own. It 

 gives them new ideas, has a resting 

 effect, and helps to refreshen and 

 brighten a person's mind. The bee- 

 keeper, therefore, should plan his work 

 so he can get out into the world oc- 

 casionally. 



■*"•-* — 



A Strong Point in Favor of Honey 



When advertising honey it is impor- 

 tant to bring all factors to the front 

 that have a strong bearing on the 

 economy of using it in place of other 

 commodities, especially syrups and the 

 numerous preserves and jelly prepara- 

 tions on the market. To make honey 

 go with all these competitors selling a't 

 what seems to the consumer a much 

 less price, it is necessary to show why 

 the price of honey is apparentlv higher, 

 but actually lower in the end. How are 

 we to do it .'' 



Of course, we have harped on the 

 more nutritive qualities of honey, its 

 purity and healthfulness, etc., but, 

 although that is excellent education' 

 there is one point that has been seri- 

 ously overlooked which should be held 

 constantly to the front. It is that, 

 compared with other sweets, such as 

 syrups and the various fruit preserves 

 and jellies, honey will go much farther. 



To convince a customer a tumbler 

 full of honey should be placed side by 

 side with the same quantity of any of 

 the other preparations, and notice 

 taken of the number of slices of bread 

 that may be spread with each. 



Since honey is so much sweeter and 

 "richer," it is not necessary to use so 

 much of it to get the proper "taste" 

 with whatever food it may be used. It 

 simply goes farther, and that should 

 be advertised. 



Can't Do Without the Bee Journal. 



Gentlemen: — Enclosed you will find my re- 

 newal for another year to the "Old Reliable." 

 I simply cannot do without your paper, and I 

 believe if I could not get it I would certainly 

 have to give up keeping bees, so closely is it 

 linked with my bee-keeping life. You can 

 certainly count on me for life, as I get more 

 pleasure and profit out of a single number of 

 your paper than a whole year costs. 



Walter E. Atkinson. 



Baltimore Co., Md., Sept. 14. 1010. 



Souvenir IJee Po.stal C'ard.s 



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. 



