28 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



pai'ls of the colonies divided on this method 

 were, in a few cases, ready for the first 

 alfalfa flow, beginning about June 18, while 

 others did not go into the supers (comb 

 honey) till later. 



But I should like to give Dr. Miller the 

 names of some of the beemen of Colorado 

 who use this method to a greater or less 

 extent in making increase, unless he in.sists 

 on the white-clover test, and that would, 

 of course, shut the Western beekeepers out. 



Mr. J. C. Mathews, of Montrose, Colo., 

 who owns and operates 1000 colonies, who 

 is successful in the commercial end of bee- 

 keeiDing as well as the theoretical, uses 

 the Alexander plan very largely. Mr. 

 Mathews says he regards it as the best- 

 known plan of increase. 



Mr. E. D. Nichols, a beeman of many 

 years' experience, of Montrose, Colo., uses 

 this method of increase, and says the two 

 resultant colonies will produce much more 

 honey than the one undivided. Mr. Nichols 

 keeps a close record, and can tell each colo- 

 ny that gave him surplus and how much. 

 Mr. Nichols uses a comb-honey super on the 

 colony on the old stand, and an extracting- 

 body on the other for the first super. 



Mr. J. J. Corbut has had a large expe- 

 rience in building up colonies, and he uses 

 the Alexander plan largely. Mr. Corbut is 

 a very observing man, and pays plenty of 

 attention to details. When he adopts a 

 method you may be sure there is a good 

 reason for it. 



William Corbut and Marion W. Harvey 

 use the Alexander plan with the Doolittle 

 plan and the Dr. Miller plan, and end.orse 

 all of them. This, of course, depends on 

 what they want and the method they use. 



Mr. Roscoe Miller, president of the Mont- 

 rose County Beekeepers' Association, and a 

 man owning nearly 1000 colonies, use^ 

 this method of increase. Mr. Miller does 

 not believe in sacrificing honey for increase. 



and yet he believes in the Alexander plan. 

 Don't get the idea that those beekeepers 

 never use any other method. They are 

 keen, wide-awake, practical men, always 

 ready to take up any thing good or to try it 

 once; and these men consider the Alexander 

 plan, adjusted slightly to suit their condi- 

 tions, a good practical method, and one with 

 which any one who is willing to take pains 

 can be successful. 



Mr. Geo. H. Rea, head of the apiary 

 department for the A. I. Root Co., used the 

 method in Pennsylvania, and knows it will 

 work when followed in detail. 



If Mr. Swahn will provide himself with 

 a copy of " Alexander's Writings on Prac- 

 tical Bee Culture," and for good measure 

 throw in a copy of " Management of Out- 

 apiaries," by G. M. Doolittle, and read 

 tliem during the present winter, he will be 

 able to increase materially his honey crop 

 any season by following these two able 

 writeis. Even if he have but one colony I 

 tliink he will be able, with his increased 

 knowledge, to pay for these two publica- 

 tions in increased amount of honey the first 

 year. 



I tliink, Mr. Editor, you should not omit 

 any detail of this method from your next 

 edition. Remember your book and your 

 magazine are read by professionals as well 

 as novices, and the former class, at least, 

 prefer to do their own eliminating when 

 necessary. Don't conclude that this method 

 is wrong without a proper hearing. Dr. 

 IMiller has given his opinion, but does not 

 say it is based on any fact or experiment 

 which has proven the contrary " in his 

 locality." 



Your own ajDiarist is of the opinion, 

 backed by numerous tests that he can dem- 

 onstrate to 3'our entire satisfaction, that he 

 can increase j'our u-hile-clover crop by fol- 

 lowing the Alexander plan in detail and 

 omitting nothing. 



GUARDING AGAINST BEESTINGS 



BY RUTH C. GIFFORD 



It is a peculiar sensation to be so badly 

 stung by bees that every one, yourself in- 

 cluded, thinks you are going to die. Few 

 beekeepers in this community who have that 

 sort of experience ever handle bees agairi. 

 I happened to be one of the people who 

 kept on; but the time I had could not be 

 described by the word " pleasant." Of 

 course the only thing for me to do was to 

 use a suit that was practically sting-proof. 

 As I could not find either a description or 



an advertisement of that sort of suit I had 

 to experiment. Every time the experiment 

 did not work ! got stung literally as well as 

 figuratively. The amount of ingenuity shown 

 by those bees in finding places through 

 which to sting was simply wonderful. How- 

 ever, I think my troubles are over so far 

 as a bee-suit is concerned, because 1 have 

 not had to modify this one during the past 

 two seasons. 



1 am now going to describe iny suit. If 



