MARCH 15. 1915 



247 



produce comb honey, and more labor in the 

 apiary during harvest. The swarming prob- 

 lem is vastly more troublesome with comb 

 tlian with extracted honey. 



Four essential factoids enter into the 

 securing of a crop of honey. First, a suf- 

 ficient amount of healthy -and well-nour- 

 ished nectar-secreting plants witliin easy 

 range of the apiary. Second, weather con- 

 ditions favorable to nectar secretion and 

 bee- flight. Third, a large number of work- 

 ers in excess of those needed for the work 



of the colony. Fourth, colony conditions 

 making the storing instinct dominant. 



Evei-y operation of the season should be 

 directed toward securing tlie greatest possi- 

 ble number of vigorous workers at the 

 jirojier time. 



Let me say that, if the beekeeper follows 

 these simple rules, he will secure a crop of 

 honey which will help to make the old world 

 happier and sweeter. 



Fort Jennings, Ohio. 



SHERLOCK HOLMES ON A BEE- TRAIL 



BY THE AMATEUR 



The beekeeper who has never indulged in 

 the pastime of hunting bees has certainly 

 missed one of the most deliglitful of all 

 outdoor sports. Interest is always keyed up 

 to the liighest pitch. There is always the 

 possibility that the bees are in the next tree 

 beyond. When the bee-hnnter gets on a 

 " hot trail " darkness alone will cause him 

 to give uji the quest. 



Tf the farmer who doesn't feel like going 

 down into his pocket to pay for a few 

 colonies would just go into the woods, hunt 

 them in trees, and get some beeman to help 

 him ]nit them into modern hives, the expe- 

 rience would go a long way toward making 

 his beekeeping a success. 



There is no finer outing for a boy than 

 a bee-hunt. Tf a lad can be encouraged to 

 go into the woods and hunt for himself a 

 colony of bees the persi.stence and self-re- 

 liance which prompt him to follow the hunt 

 to a successful conclusion will go a long way 

 toward making him successful in the cai"e 

 and management of the colony, and, pei'- 

 haps. will be the first stone on which will 

 be built a future occupation. 



Some one may say that it is impossible 

 to find wild bees in his locality. It is verv^ 

 doubtful if there is a square mile of timber, 

 either virgin or cut-over lands, where forest 

 fires have not run recently, that has not one 

 or more bee-trees. 



If the bee-hunter can find where bees have 

 been watering on fresh water, and notice 

 their course from there, it should be com- 

 paratively easy to find the tree. Still it was 

 under just such circumstances that " Penn- 

 sylvania Jake " had his hardest luck. 



Not so long ago I became greatly inter- 

 ested in bees and every thing pertaining to 

 them after I had been presented a bee-book. 

 " Langstroth on the Hive and Honeybee" 

 - — one that was read and followed by my 

 grandfather. This led to my reading all I 



could find on bees. From reading the books 

 I went into the woods, and, with no pre- 

 vious experience, found sixteen bee-trees 

 one summer, and did a boy's work in a 

 lumber-camp besides. 



Toward the close of summer, one evening 

 we had word that the railroad could furnish 

 no cars the following day, so that meant " a 

 day in the straw." Pennsylvania Jake came 

 to my door and said, " By gosh, dogs ! what 

 are you going to do to-morrow? " Then he 

 told me of a hybrid " bee " that was located 

 about two miles up in the timber somewhere, 

 but that he had been unable to find it, 

 though he had been trying every " day off " 

 all summer, and the year before, too. It 

 was watering on fresh water, and surely it 

 didn't go far; but he said he was sui'e he 

 had examined every tree for a mile and a 

 half in the direction they flew. 



The reader may be sure I speedily con- 

 sented to go along, for Pennsylvania Jake 

 was the most famous bee-hunter of that 

 locality. He had found unknown scores of 

 bee-trees. A bee-tree be couldn't find was 

 some tree ! 



In my dreams that night I could see bee- 

 trees everyhere. The night was far too long, 

 but morning came at last. We had break- 

 fast, stuck a lunch in our pockets, and were 

 off. I carried a small box with a hinged 

 cover. In this I placed about a pound of 

 honey. I also had about an ounce of anise- 

 seed oil, which I had been told was vei'y 

 good to use in bee-hunting. 



Arriving at the small fresh-water spring 

 where the bees had been watering so long, 

 behold, the first bee of the morning came 

 also. 



It miglit be well to state that the spring 

 was located at the edge of the large tract of 

 timber which had been recently slashed and 

 the bark peeled, leaving the hard wood alone 

 standing. This adjoined on an east-and-wesl 



