April 16, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



247 



contain millions of germs in an extra-large queen, as the 

 sac is certainly larger than in one of those small, degener- 

 ated queens, it can be accounted for, as we certainly know 

 that there are lots of them that become drone-layers tlie 

 first or second season, and I never have seen spring dwind- 

 ling vfith long-lived queens and long-lived workers. 



The first colony of bees I ever purchased was when I 

 was 15 years old. It was in an old-fashioned straw skep, as 

 they were called then. I had bees before, given me by my 

 aunt. I paid S7.50 for the straw-hive colony — an extra price 

 because it was the old lady's lucky colony. You see I pur- 

 chased her luck. I was bound to start right. 



The hive contained about the same number of cubic 

 feet or inches as a double 10-frame Langstroth hive. That 

 was in Canada, 65 miles north of Vermont. They were 

 kept in an open shed, built on purpose, facing the southwest. 

 Our winters were long and cold, yet that colony wintered 

 perfectly every winter — no dead bees on the bottom-boards. 

 They came out as strong in the spring as they went in in 

 the fall — no dysentery and no spring dwindling ; all the 

 comb was worker, except a very small piece of drone-comb 

 in one side of the hive, about the size of my hand. 



I always had one or more swarms from that colony, and 

 usually a 20-pound box of honey in a season, and all the 

 queens from that colony were of the large, long-lived variety, 

 and verj' prolific. Of course, neither Gallup nor Alley ever 

 monkeyed with them in the rearing or introducing of them, 

 so there was nothing unnatural about them. 



I saw my first queen from that colony — they were called 

 "kings" in those days. I was taught by my aunt to ring 

 bells, rattle old tin pans, etc., to make them cluster, then 

 spread a white sheet in front of the hive, shake the bees on 

 the sheet and watch them run in, and so I saw my first 

 queen. She looked extra-large to my eyes at that time. 

 How long they had been kept in that hive and reared in 

 that comb I had no means of knowing, but this I do know, 

 the combs became so full of cocoons that the bees became 

 mere dwarfs and ceased to swarm or produce any profit 

 whatever, and finally " went up the spout." Ever since 

 that experience I do not keep old black combs for breeding. 

 Of course, some writers claim that the age of the comb 

 makes no difl^erence in the size of the workers, but they are 

 grandly mistaken. I know better. 



Several writers are afraid there will be no limit to the 

 size of the hives or queens, but there is, all the same. I 

 have found that the 2-story Langstroth 10-frame hive is 

 about the safe limit, as to size of hive, or one-story 20-frame 

 hive for experimenting with. Now, the reason 1 have 

 recommended queens reared in such a hive, and by natural 

 swarming is, that I know that queens thus reared have the 

 umbilical cord attachment, and I am not certain that queens 

 reared by any other method do have that attachment, al- 

 though we comply with all other requirements, such as 

 abundance of nourishment, warmth, etc. That queens are 

 reared with that attachment is a positive fact. You chaps 

 that deny this, bring to my mind an old story in my life 

 that I must tell now. 



I was attending the County Fair at Ripon, Wis., and, of 

 course, as usual, had quite a crowd around me listening to 

 me talking bees, and among the crowd were' two old gray- 

 headed gentlemen, who showed by their actions and looks 

 that they did not believe all my " yarns." Finally one of 

 them spoke up and said ; 



"Look here, young man ; I am an old man, have kept 

 bees for years, my father kept bees for years, and my grand- 

 father before us kept bees for years, and none of us ever 

 saw such a bee as yon describe ; therefore I know there is no 

 such a bee in a hive." 



So you can see how easily a person can be mistaken. 

 Because you have not seen the umbilical cord, and no scien- 

 tist has ever made the discovery, yo-i think your argument 

 is on a solid foundation. Any person can demonstrate this, 

 but not by looking for it on queens improperly reared. 



Why is it that so many queens sent out do extra well the 

 first season, but fail entirely the second season ? 



Orange Co., Calif., Dec. 28, 1902. 



Our Wood Binder (or Holder) is made to take all the 

 copies of the American Bee Journal for a year. It is sent 

 by mail for 20 cents. Full directions accompany. The Bee 

 Journals can be inserted as soon as they are received, .md 

 thus preserved for future reference. Upon receipt of Sl.OO 

 for your Bee Journal subscription a full year tn advance, 

 we will mail you a Wood Binder free — if you will mention it. 



Our Bee-KeeDing Sisters \ 



Conducted bu EMIttn M. WILSON, Marengo, III. 



Dimensions of a 10-Frame Hive. 



What are the inside dimensions of the Langstroth 10- 

 frame hive ? We have started with one colony, and would 

 like to make our own hives until we can get enough colonies 

 so that we can get five at a time. 



Union Co., S. Dak. Mrs. George S. Eddy. 



Answer. — 18,'4 inches long, \\]i wide, and 9Ji deep. 



Lotion to Wliiten the Skin. 



A lotion to whiten the skin is made by combining four 

 ounces of extracted honey, one ounce glycerine, one ounce 

 rosewater, three drams citric acid, and six drops of the 

 essence of ambergris. Apply a little to the face and hands 

 two or three times a week, using a linen pad for the pur- 

 pose. — Chicago Daily News. 



Clarified Honey for Brilliantine. 



On page 152, I saw a recipe for brilliantine for the hair, 

 and as I am not sure what is meant by clarified honey, will 

 you please tell me ? I shall be grateful, as I have been 

 looking for something of the kind for some time. 



Montezuma Co., Colo. Mrs. Olive George. 



Answer. — The recipe that you mention is not mine, but 

 one copied from the "Health and Beauty " department of 

 the Chicago Daily News. What is meant, I think, is a good 

 quality of extracted honey. 



Overstocking- a Locality with Bees. 



I notice on page 167, the answer to Mrs. E. K. Hoffman's 

 inquiry as to how to get into beekeeping, and the statement 

 that if the ground was fully occupied by other bee-keepers 

 it would be trespassing to start another apiary. 



I am inclined to the opinion that that is putting it a 

 trifle strong. I would say it would be discourteous, and 

 unkind, and unprofitable in the end. But no worse than to 

 start a grocery store on a street that was fully occupied, 

 which happens quite often. 



I kept bees in an alfalfa district last season, and it is 

 my opinion that there is very little danger of overstocking 

 an alfalfa district. 



The American Bee Journal is very much appreciated 

 and carefully read by me. B. F. L. 



If there is no danger of overstocking an alfalfa district, 

 then there is no need of any further talk on the subject, but 

 the actual fact is that some of the bee-keepers in the alfalfa 

 districts of Colorado are complaining that already their 

 districts are overstocked. 



It does not seem to me that the case of the grocer is a 

 parallel one, although, perhaps, most people who have not 

 given the subject much thought would agree with you. 



In the first place, there is this radical difference : If 

 .several men occupy the same field with bees, each man will 

 get his share of the pasturage in proportion to the number 

 of colonies he has, while the grocery trade is by no means 

 in proportion to the capital — the hustler may outsell his 

 competitor with double the capital. 



Suppose there are five grocers in one place, fully occu- 

 pying the ground and doing all the business ; and a sixth 

 one starts a store. Now, there are three things possible : 



1st. Those five grocers already in the field may be able 

 to hold their trade in spite of the interloper, and he may get 

 nothing to do, and be obliged to quit the field. 



2d. The new man may be such a hustler that he will 

 entice some of the others, and so get his share, thus reduc- 

 ing the trade of the others. 



3d. There may be extra exertion on the part of all, and 

 they may reach out to more distant points ii -. easing the 



