June 18, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



393 



in the"ABCof Bee-Culture?" I fail to interest myself 

 to open at random. I am such a busy woman. 



I hope I am not asking too much. 



Mrs. J. J. Garkison. 



Van Buren Co., Mich., March 27. 



P. S.— I send this written nearly two months ago, but 

 unmailed because the answers I'm afraid are too simple. 



I enjoy our department, and wish I could contribute 

 from my experience. I shall try to as data come. I do 

 want to learn before I begin. You editors write for old 

 hands, not for ignorant people, or I am mistaken. 



J. J. G. 



Answers. — 1. Yes, I surely think it practicable to pro- 

 vide honey for your own family. Honey is a delicious, 

 healthy sweet for children — for grown people as well — but I 

 think children nearly always crave sweets of some kind, 

 and honey is good for them instead of being harmful as are 

 candy and sweets of like nature. Even with hands already 

 full, you can no doubt find time to care for two or three 

 colonies of bees, and the time spent with them will be a 

 restful change for you — perhaps just what you need, a 

 blessing as well as a profit. 



2. If in movable- frame hives, remove the cover and lift 

 out the frames to examine them. Italian bees will usually 

 protect themselves against the ravages of the worms. Black 

 bees are not so good in that respect. 



3. It is not easy to give a satisfactory answer to this 

 question, so much depends upon circumstances, and prices 

 vary so much in different localities. It may be well to find 

 out what bees can be secured for in movable-frame hives 

 near home, and compare prices with those who advertise 

 bees for sale, then you may be able to decide which is best. 

 Heavy express charges must be considered, however. 



4. The sooner the better. 



5. One of the first things you will need will be a smoker. 

 You will need for each colony, in case of a swarm, a hive 

 filled with frames, the frames to be supplied with starters 

 or full sheets of foundation (better have full sheets). Also 

 two or three supers for each colony to hold your sections, if 

 you work for comb honey. If you work for extracted honey 

 you will need hive-bodies and frames instead. If working 

 for comb honey you will need sections and foundation for 

 them. For me, a bee-veil and gloves would be indispen- 

 sable, but every one does not use gloves. Even if the bees 

 did not sting I should want the gloves to keep the bee-glue 

 off my fingers. 



6. If you have not the time to read the whole of your 

 bee-book, I should advise you to look up, by means of the 

 index, the points that you are especially interested in, and 

 want information about, from time to time, such as swarm- 

 ing, clipping queens, putting foundation in sections, etc. I 

 think as you get the bee-fever your interest will grow. 



Now, if these answers are not perfectly plain, don't 

 hesitate to write again. This department is certainly in- 

 tended for the beginner as well as the old hands, and it is 

 not the fault of the beginner herself if her needs are not 

 met, so long as she has the fullest liberty to ask questions ? 

 If things are not made plain, just write again, and please 

 don't worry about your questions being too simple. Others 

 may be having the same trouble, and the answer to your 

 question may be of benefit to many others besides yourself. 





Nasty's Afterthoughts 



] 



• old Kfliable '' seeu through New and Unieliable Glass 

 By E. E. Hasty, Sta. B Rural, Toledo, Ohio. 



OSMOSIS — HOW ABOUT IT ? 



When the human skin takes oxygen from the air is it 

 not rather stretching the use of terms to call the process, 

 "osmosis?" College man might say so, but if common 

 " feller " said it some one would grin. A good rhetorician 

 usually avoids pushing his extreme verbal rights. ()ther- 

 wise he might get too often to the point where "Neman 

 understandeth him." "Osmosis much more rapid from 

 water to salt than from salt to water." If I understand 

 this correctly it is that more unsalted water will pass in 

 through the membrane than salted water will pass out. 

 Thanks to Prof. Cook for mentioning the fact.oBigJmystery 



may be hid somewhere in that vicinity. Here's a wild 

 grape-vine in a tree. Cut it off 50 feet up and it drips 

 copiously for many hours. Might almost compare it to an 

 engine-hose. I suppose it is osmosis that does the thing; 

 but scientists do not claim to tell us all the why of it, I be- 

 lieve. A mere plant, with no animal powers, where does it 

 get the force, the energy, to throw fluid up that way ? Page 

 293. 



MR. CILLEY'S forced swarming. 



That's the way to talk it, Mr. Charles W. Cilley— no 

 natural swarm for four years, and no case of a forced 

 swarm deserting. When the rest can say so we will write 

 the word " Success " on — well, the process. Was going to 

 say on forced swarming, but the words stuck in my throat 

 somehow. Premium of five cents for a better and more 

 satisfactory term. Page 294. 



ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS — BEE-OLOGY AND THEOLOGY. 



Mr. Doolittle's last paragraph, page 295, is very sug- 

 gestive, indeed. The elements of success are usually many. 

 How prone we are to hobbyize and magnify one of them till 

 it hides all the others. That won't do. Unless all the 

 prime elements of success are put in, superfine and gilt- 

 edged treatment of one of them will avail but little. 



Alley cells fragile ; Doolittle cells strong — seems to be 

 the way that matter differentiates. 



Can't find much of a flaw to criticise in Mr. Doolittle's 

 bee-ology this time, but can criticise his theology — just a 

 trifle. He says the Creator pronounced the bee good, 

 when the text says he saw it to be good. Is this too 

 awfully minute ? I think not. Those of us who are try- 

 ing to be scripturally devout, and trying to take in 

 cordially the facts of modern science, too, have a big con- 

 tract. Are we not all just scratching around, and sticking 

 in our toe-nails, to accomplish the things we propose to our- 

 selves ? Trying to hold our devotion, our Scripture, and 

 our science, all three, we think of the babe trying to hold 

 three big oranges. We must keep our religious ideas licked 

 into the best shape possible in order that holding on may be 

 possible. A little misquotation, if it is in the direction of 

 greater difficulty, is big enough to object to. 



FOUL BROOD IN ONTARIO. 



And so when they tell us that foul brood is almost ex- 

 terminated in Ontario, Mr. Holtermann feels it his duty to 

 take the role of hold-up man. Almost too strong a word ? 

 All right, I suppose, to feel a little jubilant over complete 

 victory somewhere in sight ; but we mustn't jubilate our- 

 selves out of reach of the truth. Page 300. 



PERFUMES TO STOP BOBBING. 

 " Some she gave 'lasses, and some she gave bread, 



And some she gave . '' 



And Ira Barber followed suit, giving one peppermint, 

 and one wintergreen, and one onions, etc. This to discrimi- 

 nate friends from foes among robbers. I would say to the 

 too-eager beginner, Don't go into that sort of thing unless 

 you are sure you need to. And don't expect it to cure ordi- 

 nary, battle-of-Waterloo robbing. I guess it would be effec- 

 tive to stop quiet, sneak-robbing if you've got that. Page 

 302. 



KEEPING A FAMINE-SMITTEN SWARM. 



Dr. Wiseman was very lucky to have his famine-smitten 

 swarm stay seven days, and give him a chance to feed 

 them. In case a swarm is beginning with nothing, and the 

 weather is such as plainly prevents their gathering any- 

 thing, they should be looked to within three days. "The ra- 

 tions they carry along should not be counted on for more 

 than that — in fact they sometimes seem to carry almost 

 nothing. The second evening is the correct time to give 

 them something. There is a choice, however, as to how 

 much you will feed. A half-pound feed, repeated if weather 

 keeps contrary, will hold them. Page 302. 



RIGHT MAN NEEDED IN ILLINOIS. 



Illinois now seems to have public money available to 

 suppress foul brood, but not in an act granting special 

 powers to inspectors. AH the more need to appoint just 

 the right man if they must rely on " speaking gently " 

 without any " big stick." Diseased apiary bad — diseased 

 apiary owned by cranky, ignorant, unreasonable man sev- 

 eral degrees more to the bad. Page 308. 



HE RAPPED ALFALFA HONEY. 



I see Pres. Crane, of the Vermonters, raps alfalfa honey- 

 as of flavor decidedly inferior to clover and basswood. Car- 

 load of it got provokingly in his path. Might it not have 



