Sept. 10, 1903. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



583 



ing on to a lirab above it, I managed to reach the cluster 

 with the catcher. 



When all was over, I sat down to meditate, and, as a 

 result, I finally came to the conclusion that it is impossible 

 to reach a swarm of bees SO feet from the ground with a 20- 

 foot pole, simpl)'. And, I also concluded that the man who 

 wrote that article either never saw a tree over 25 feet 

 higJi or else ignored the fact that trees do sometimes grow 

 higher. 



Now, I wish to say right here, that I think theManum 

 swarm-catcher is an excellent device, and worth all it costs ; 

 but it will not reach swarms in the tops of high trees. And, 

 as to the entrance-guards previously referred to, I hardly 

 know what I should do without them. They do not, by any 

 means, take the place of the bee-keeper's watchful eye, but 

 I find them a great help. 



No one appreciates useful inventions more than I do. 



All goes to show how easy it is to make misleading 

 statements, and how necessary it is, for those who aspire to 

 the position of teachers, to weigh carefully everything they 

 say ; to look all around the subject, or else admit their view 

 is only a partial one! and must not be expected to apply to 

 all conditions. It is only natural that beginners should 

 look to experienced writers for reliable information. And 

 this very fact is apt, for the time, to dwarf their own nat- 

 ural resources, thus adding to their perplexity, in case the 

 instruction is inaccurate. 



But I do not wish to be misunderstood as underrating 

 the excellent literature we have on the subject of beekeep- 

 ing. On the contrary, I advise all who expect to be success- 

 ful with bees to read it. We owe much to our able writers, 

 but they should not forget that they also owe something to 

 their readers. And I think we have reason to complain 

 that they, too, often speak without due consideration. 



To sum up, I would advise beginners in bee-keeping to 

 get a good book on the subject, but do not expect it to be 

 infallible. You will get much from it, but you must have 

 practical experience. 



Do not invest in more than two or three colonies at 

 first. You will have enough to do to handle them properly 

 the first season. Keep a record of every colony. You must 

 know what is going on in each hive from day to day, if 

 you expect to make a success of bee-keeping. 



To writers on the subject, I would respectfully suggest 

 that it might be better to give their experience only, and 

 not carelessly repeat what others have as carelessly said, 

 and thus help to hand down palpable errors, which, from 

 necessity, must be very confusing to beginners. 



[ Our Bee-Keepin$ Sisters ] 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



Likes Bee-Work— Bee-Sting-s for Rheumatism. 



I think the Sisters department is splendid. I had no 

 idea so many women were doing' as I have done. I have 

 taken care of bees for seven years, and now have 40 colo- 

 nies! In some years I have better success than others, but I 

 am never without honey. I work only for comb honey. I 

 started to take honey off the middle of June, and have taken 

 several hundred pounds since then. I got 20 cents for the 

 first, but only get 12'2 cents now. I never saw honey come 

 in so fast. White clover was full of bloom. I will have 

 several hundred pounds to sell. I have hived 39 swarms, 

 and have traded swarms for hives. 



I love to take care of my bees. All the help I have is 

 from my girls, aged 14 and 10 years. I lost my only boy 

 last January. My, how I miss him ! He was such a help. 

 It seems hard to do without him. 



I live on a small farm, and have to rent the ground out. 

 I do not receive much from it. I manage to get along with 

 the help of the bees and chickens. I would like to hear 

 from those who have tried to get the eggs to hatch in the 

 hives. I did not have faith in it, although I would like ever 

 so well to have an incubator, as I raise several hundred 

 chickens every year, and the bees would be a cheap kind, if 

 it worked all right. 



I noticed, in the last Bee Journal, something about bee- 

 stings for rheumatism. Irwas crippled up real badly last 



spring when I started to work with my bees, and I can say 

 I feel it no more. 



A lady from New York tells, on page 488, about how 

 they used to take off the honey with the sulphur stick. I 

 have heard my father tell about doing the same way. 



I have written quite a good deal, and have not given any 

 advice, nor asked any questions. There is lots for me to 

 learn, and I find out something new quite often. 



I think that a cake of sugar candy put over the frames 

 in the fall keeps the bees from having dysentery in the 

 spring. I winter my bees on the summer stands, putting 

 leaves in the super. I have had good success in wintering 

 them in that way. I wish I had things as convenient as I 

 see they have in some of the pictures of apiaries given in 

 the American Bee Journal. I need a honey-house very 

 badly, and would like to have as many more bees as I have. 

 I hope some day to have them. 



I think the editor will have to give us more room. I 

 enjoy reading the paper, especially the Sisters department. 



Page Co., Iowa, Aug. 4. Inez J. Henry. 



A Sister's EncouFaging' Word. 



My Dear Miss Wilson :— I will now do what I have 

 often felt like doing— tell you how much I appreciate your 

 department in the American Bee Journal. I think it is well 

 conducted, and when I recommend a bee-paper to a sister 

 bee-keeper, I always add to my warm approval of the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal the fact that it has a department especially 

 for women, conducted by a woman whose experience and 

 ability is unquestioned. Such a recommend goes by this 

 mail to Portland, Maine. 



When I began bee-keeping, 19 years ago. Gleanings in 

 Bee-Culture had a number of wonen correspondents, the 

 best remembered being Mrs. Harrison, Mrs. Chaddock, and 

 Mrs. Axtell. They were good, helpful writers, and I always 

 felt an inspiration to go on with my work after reading 

 their articles. Working entirely alone as I have always 

 had to do, I did not have the comfort and pleasure of talk- 

 ing over my work with any one, so naturally the bee-papers 

 were more to me than instructive — they were communica- 

 tions from friends with mutual interests, and I soon had 

 my favorites, and felt as if I knew them ; and, by the way, 

 is not this one of the best things about conventions, that 

 we meet these friends we have learned to admire ? 



I heartily wish you success, and a continuance of your 

 work. S. M. Stow. 



Cook Co., 111., May 22. 



Trouble with Swarms Deserting-. 



I had some trouble with my bees, and would like some 

 information. In July they swarmed, and I hived them, but 

 the following day they left the hive and settled on an old 

 barrel. I hived them again, but there is not a third of a 

 colony in the hive now. July 7, the old colony sent out 

 another swarm, which I hived without a bit of trouble, but 

 to-day I looked in the hive and found only a handful of 

 bees. Both hives were clean, and I can not understand why 

 they leave, as they were both large swarms. I am very 

 sorry, for I am anxious to get a start in bees. 



I enjoy reading the American Bee Journal, and want to 

 try to get some of my neighbors to subscribe for it. 



I shall be very glad to receive advice from some one 

 who has had more experience than I have. 



Cherokee Co., Kans., July 11. Anna Shcps. 



Answer.— I think if you try giving them a frame of 

 brood when you hive them you will have no further trouble. 

 I never knew them to desert when given brood- 

 Maple Sugar and the Sugar Bush, by Prof. A. J. Cook ; 

 44 pages ; price, postpaid, 30 cents. This is by the same 

 author as " The Bee-Keepers' Guide," and is most valuable 

 to all who are interested in the product of our sugar-maples. 

 No one who makes maple sugar or syrup should be without 

 it. Order from the office of the American Bee Journal. 



Amerikanische Bienenzucht, by Hans Busclibauer, is 

 a bee-keeper's handbook of 138 pages, which is just what 

 our German friends will want. It is fully illustrated, and 

 neatly bound in cloth. Price, postpaid, $1.00 ; or with the 

 American Bee Journal one year— both for $1.75. Address 

 all orders to this office. 



