618 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Sept. 24. 1903. 



to my joy that there were living- bees in two of them. I now 

 have 8 strong- colonies, 4 of them queened by the best red 

 clover queens. 



But to go back to my cleaning : As I continued to live 

 out-doors, early in June I noticed that I could often see the 

 outlines of things, and in some favorable light could see a 

 moving object, and tell if it was a white cat or black chicken. 

 Then, when I had cleaned all my hives, and sandpapered a 

 few that were weather-beaten, I painted everything a cream 

 white — hives, supers, and all. 



The small amount of sight is only in one eye, but I can 

 go to every hive in the bee-yard, and not much danger of 

 falling over it, if I look carefully, as I can see nothing 

 quickly, not even a bee-hive. 



_ Although it has rained incessantly here, we have our 

 first white clover honey harvest, some of the colonies yield- 

 ing as much as 80 pounds of the beautiful product. So the 

 dear daughters, who have so kindly loaned me their busy 

 hands, and often tired eyes, to help care for my pets, feel 

 well repaid for them. Mrs. B. J. L,iviNGSTON. 



Martin Co., Minn., Sept. 3. 



( 



Nasty's Afterthoughts 





The " Old Reliable " seen through New and Unreliable Glasses. 

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



FEEDING BACK NOT GENERALLY PROFITABLE. 



Producing two crops to secure one, is what Doolittle 

 calls the feeding-back tactics. And he finds those who 

 don't succeed at it greatly to outnumber those who do. 

 Puts himself with those who can just barely succeed at fin- 

 ishing up sections nearly done. Candying in the comb is a 

 bad trick, and the fed-back honey is much worse at it. 

 Page 493. 



SURE METHOD OF FINDING QUEENS. 



The Davenport method of finding a queen " whether or 

 no" — shaking all the bees through a zinc-bottomed empty 

 hive — is clearly one of the best methods in sight. Page 501. 



MARKETING UNRIPE HONEY. 



We were mighty lucky that it was only buckwheat ex- 

 tracted honey that got killed. Had there been no chance to 

 discriminate, I fear the big users that were bitten would 

 have abandoned the use of all honey. And stMl the seller 

 is going to continue to think that if he can make a sale he 

 is all right. Far from being all right if he has killed off a 

 future sale. This specially affects those who retail in their 

 own fields. We must nurse our customers instead of pois- 

 oning them. Very little indeed do many of them know 

 about honey, and we, if we understand where our bread is 

 buttered, will post them honestly and truly. That there is 

 a difference between ripe honey and unripe honey, and how 

 that difference comes about — I suspect that even some of the 

 big buyers need instruction sorely on the point. Page 501. 



QUITE A DIFFERENCE. 



In my Afterthink, page SOS, it's not "improvement'' 

 but imprisonment that the long-caged queen would be get- 

 ting. 



OUR OWN WAY THE BEST WAY. 



'Twas ever thus. The Mississippi beginner knows it's 

 better to put the bees gently in the top— his way — rather 

 than run them in the entrance — Dr. Miller's way. Oft our 

 own way is the best ybr ?/.f, just because we put so much 

 more of ourselves into it. Nice that there are in the lan- 

 guage such words as "our own," and "mine," and "my 

 way." Page 506. 



GETTING SWARMS FROM HIGH TREES. 



Yes, Ernest Root, hurrah for that swarming-time belt 

 to fasten saw and pruning-shears and coil of rope to — other 

 tools ad libitum 1 But the smoker — you'll start with the 

 wood of that a-next your precious hide, but when just in the 

 most interesting part of the climb up that tall tree an earnest 

 and fiery— Ouch ! will tell to all below how that smoker con- 

 trived to whop around. I have some basswood trees to take 

 swarms out of, too. The extreme and dangerous brittleness 

 of basswood limbs decidedly increases the dilKculty — 'cept 



when the swarm itself snaps the limb clear off, and it falls 

 to an easier location. Page 510. 



VARNISHING FOUNDATION WITH PROPOLIS. 



An editorial, on page 515, says bees put a layer of bee- 

 glue all over section foundation when put in too late and 

 left. That's right — but possibly it might be "righter." 

 Should we not learn to discriminate between what bees in- 

 tentionally do and what they unintentionally do ? (Granted 

 that in the economy of Nature one class of doings may serve 

 just as an important a purpose as the other.) Bees inten- 

 tionally stop all cracks with propolis as fast as they can — 

 round out corners — fill rabbets — and mix the propolis with 

 the wax of bur-combs. Sometimes they put great dabs 

 of it on the sides of the hive, apparently because they 

 consider it precious, and still don't know what else to do 

 with it. (In the tree, rotten wall and propolis makes sound 

 lumber.) But varnishing, whether of foundation or of 

 honey-cappings, I don't think they do intentionally. Nearly 

 all hands, when the honey harvest is off and the propolis 

 harvest is on, have their feet more or less dabbled, and the 

 varnish of surfaces is simply the natural result of contin- 

 ually running over them. All the same, it improves matters 

 from the bee's point of view. 



GOOD LOOKS AND CONVENIENCE COST. 



I also feel constrained to confess that the symmetry, 

 which is pleasing to the human eye, is, per se, more or less 

 of bother and loss to the bee. We arrange for so mnch good 

 looks, and so much convenience — but have to pay the regu- 

 lation price for them — quite a bit cheapened to those who 

 let the weeds grow. How disagreeable truth can be, some- 

 times ! My apiary and entrances this summer were too good 

 some of the time. Page 515. 





Dr. Miller's Answers 





Send Questions either to the office of the Au^erican Bee .Journal, 

 or to Dr. C. C. Miller, Mareng-o, 111. 



Preparation for Wintering Bees. 



I am young in the bee-business though not in years. Would it be 

 a safe plan to set one hive on top of another, with say screening be- 

 tween in winter, when wintering in the bee-housel and, of course, 

 packed the same as you would if only one hive were there. Would 

 the moisture from the lower hive be detrimental to those in top hive? 



Iowa. 



Answer. — I don't know; you've struck something I never heard 

 of. I hardly believe the moisture from the lower colony would hurt 

 the upper one. Of course, you would have an entrance above as well 

 as below. If you try the plan, please report what success. 



Moving Bees Pour Miles. 



Can I move 9 colonies of bees four miles south ? I expect to move 

 about the last of September, and do not like to let them stand on 

 account of robbing, as there will be no one left at this place when I 

 leave. Some may go back and get lost, or they might not all be home 

 when I move them. Perhaps I can take a cold morning to move them. 

 I am afraid it might amount to a whole colony being left, or going 

 back after being moved. Please advise me what to do about moving 

 them. Subscriber. 



Answer. — When bees are moved 4 miles there ought not to be the 

 slightest trouble about any returning so far to the old place. Of 

 course, if any are out in the fields when the hives are moved they 

 would he lost. So, if you are going to move them in the middle of the 

 day, close the hives the night before, or in the morning before bees are 

 flying. 



Late Poul Brood Management. \ 



Tour postal card came duly to hand, and I note what j'ousay in 

 regard to our neighbors' bees, that you doubted its being foul brood. 

 I am sorry to say that we have established the fact that it is foul 

 brood, from microscopical examination, found all the symptoms 

 in all the stages, from start to finish, as illustrated in " A B C of Bee- 

 Culture," spores and all. The owner is getting some nice comb honey, 

 and he does not want to disturb them (the bees). 



Now, this man is not progressive enough lo take " heroic " meas- 

 ures toward stamping out the disease, that is, to destroy his hives, 

 bees and all. There are one or two others not far from here, I think, 



