August, 1914. 



American Bcc Joarnajj 



quite another thing, and at that time 

 no colony is too weak to be worth 

 strengthening if it has a good queen, 

 /rdrvi/ti/ all other colonies are suffi- 

 ciently strong — to be more specific, 

 provided other colonies have not less 

 than 5 or (3 frames of brood eacli. 



And in this connection may be given 

 the invariable rule, that the iL'cakcsl 

 colonies arc the /as/ to be s/renjft/ioiecl. 

 We do not always have it so, but this 

 year there were a good many colonies 

 with all the brood that would go 

 into one story, and they divided with 

 their weaker neighbors, and when all 

 but one or two weaklings were left it 

 was an easy thing to bring up a 2- 

 ftame concern to full strength at once. 

 As a matter of fact we had few or no 

 colonies very weak this year, and about 

 the middle of May each colony had a 

 second story given. Some started 

 brood in the second story ; some didn't. 



But as already said, a personal con- 

 ference with Mr. Byer might show that 

 under the same circumstances there 

 might be little difference of opinion. 



Beginning With Bees— Danger of Stings, 

 Etc. 



Is there danger of being stung ? A 

 gentleman told my husband that some- 

 times one could not prevent a person 

 from being stung, even with veils and 

 gloves. This has prevented him from 

 trying to keep bees. He is an old gen- 

 tleman ; is about to be pensioned, in 

 another year, by the railroad, and we 

 thought he could make some money 

 with bees, but we will have to move 

 first, for this place is too small. I want 

 to move to Riverton, and am going 

 next week to look at a place, where he 

 can make a little and help along with 

 expenses. 

 Can you help us in this ? 



M. H. Brown. 

 Merchantville, N. J. 

 It is a mistake to suppose that one 

 cannot protect oneself against stings. 

 The most indispensable thing is the 

 veil, and most beekeepers are satisfied 

 with a smoker and a veil, while many 

 do with the smoker alone. To be sure, 

 there are bees so gentle that with care- 

 ful handling one can even get along 

 without a smoker, but generally the 

 smoker is used. The purpose of the 

 veil is to protect all parts of the head 

 and neck that are usually e.xposed. 



One good way of making a veil is to 

 take cape net or similar open material 

 of black color, soak the starch out of 

 it, se.v it in the form of a bag open at 

 each end, with a rubber cord shirred 

 into each end; slip the veil over the 

 hat, the one rubber cord being at the 

 hat-band while the other is stretched 

 down in ironX I'oy lii'/i//y ^nA pinned 

 with a safety-pin to vest, suspender, or 

 other part of the clothing. 



Different kinds of gloves may be 

 used. Rubber ones are good but un- 

 comfortable. Hog-skin gloves are 

 good, although not very fragrant. 

 Other leather may be used. Two thick- 

 nesses of heavy cotton will do. A pair 

 of old shirt-sleeves may be attached to 

 the gloves at the wrists and fastened 

 on the arms. Thus protected, the op- 

 erator is safe against voluntary attacks, 

 but sometimes bees on the ground may 

 crawl up the legs and sting when 



A. H Fralick in Hi.s Apiary at Homer, Minn. 



pinched. To avoid this tie strings 

 about the trouser-legs at the ankles; 

 better still, use bicycle clips, or trouser- 

 guards, such as bicyclists use. 



There is a difference in bees as to 

 their stinging. Some are so cross 

 that veil and gloves are needed, even 

 with plenty of smoke. Others are so 

 gentle that they may be handled with- 

 out either smoke or veil, if one makes 

 slow movements and is careful not to 

 handle frames roughly or jar the hive. 



After a little familiarity with bees, 

 your husband will likely not mind a 

 few stings, and the more he is stung 

 the less effect the poison will have. 

 The probability is that you may be able 

 to handle bees as well as he. 



You say you will have to move to a 

 larger place. If you have a place large 

 enough to set the hives, that's all you 

 want. The bees forage in a'l direc- 

 tions, and a small place should do you 

 as well as a large one. 



How Many Supers ? 



"Many men of many minds." On 

 page 233 of the American Bee Journal 

 for July, Mr. Wilder says : "The great 

 trouble with the average beekeeper is 

 he hasn't supers enough." Eight pages 



farther along, Mr. Greiner says that 

 " to make bees do their best, no more 

 than two supers must be allowed to be 

 on a hive at a time." It would no doubt 

 be an enjoyable thing if we could have 

 the two men discuss fully their differ- 

 ent view points. Mr. Wilder does not 

 give very fully his reason for thinking 

 that the average beekeeper does not 

 have supers enough. Mr. Greiner is 

 more explicit in saying why two supers 

 at a time is enough. Yet it must be 

 said that in this quarter the usual prac- 

 tice is more in accord with the Dixie 

 man. Of course, Mr. Greiner is no 

 novice, and it may be that for him two 

 supers work all right, but it is a little 

 difficult to see just how we could get 

 along here with never more than two 

 supers at a time. He says, "Three, 

 four, five, and even more supers on a 

 hive scatter the working forces over 

 too much territory, which discourages 

 them, and produces 'loafing.'" 



The count of supers on our hives 

 July 3, showed that quite a number of 

 hives had on them five supers each, 

 and a few six. To be sure, the top 

 supers in many cases are empty, and 

 would remain so until put down in the 

 lowest place, but there were also quite 

 a number of these top supers into 



Mr. Geo. Seastrea.m in His Apiary at I'awnee. III. 

 He has nearly 200 colonies, and winters liis bees in the cellar. 



