September, 1914. 



American tee Jonrnal 



time; longrr tlian at others. Some- 

 times they work as early and as late as 

 the light will let them. The flow has 

 much to do with it. So has the tem- 

 perature. They will, of course, be slow 

 about getting to work on a very cool 

 morning. But sometimes, too, they are 

 slow about getting out on a warm 

 morning even in a good flow. It looks 

 just a little as if they said to them- 

 selves : " We worked hard all day yes- 

 terday; we're tired, and we're entitled 

 to a little extra rest this morning be- 

 fore starting out." 



"Do bees recognize the person who 

 is around them so much ?" Likely not. 

 Yet when placed where people are con- 

 stantly near them, or passing by, they 

 are less likely to be on the offensive or 



defensive than when seldom seeing 

 any one. Yet such bees act just the 

 same toward an entire stratiger as to- 

 ward their owner. There are some in- 

 dications, however, that bees jeem to 

 distinguish between individuals; al- 

 though the recognition of their owner 

 as compared with a stranger is a rec- 

 ognition of emnity rather than of 

 friendship. On a day when bees are 

 quite cross, and the owner lias been 

 working with them, and then after hav- 

 ing been away from the apiary half an 

 hour or so tlie owner should come with 

 several strangers in the vicinity of the 

 apiary, the bees will single out the 

 owner and attack him, or follow him 

 about in a scolding way. while the 

 strangers may be undisturbed. 



Bee-Keeping 



In Dixie^ 



Conducted by J. J. Wilder. Cordele. Ga. 



A Beekeeper's Mountain Stroll 



I left my cottage for a three days' 

 tramp through the mountain on a 

 bright sunny morning in June, in com- 

 pany with a party who knew the coun- 

 try. We took with us a very light 

 camping outfit, such as we could carry 

 on our backs. 



We traveled only a short distance 

 before we came to the slope. We 

 started the ascent by the side of a 

 beautiful stream that rushed and 

 splashed as it passed over rocks and 

 precipices. 



The large amount of sourwood which 

 was ready to bloom attracted my at- 

 tention. I remarked that if there were 

 any bees in this part of the country, 

 they would soon be storing honey. 

 When the noise of the water permitted, 

 we noticed a faint hum above us, and 

 saw that there were bees in large num- 

 bers working on slim-bodied trees 

 which grew mostly on the water's edge. 

 They were basswood. I looked for 

 nectar. I saw tiny drops in each blos- 

 som. These trees were loaded with 

 drooping blossoms hanging in clus- 

 ters. 1 understood why the beekeepers 

 of the North could make such great 

 crops of honey frotn this source. As I 

 looked at the high straight trunks I re- 

 marked that much had been said in our 

 bee-papers about the supply of this 

 timber fast diminishing, and that it 

 would soon affect the supply of sec- 

 tions. It's all ■' bosh," for the inex- 

 haustible supply here would make such 

 a thing impossible. 



The climb was toilsome, <ind the deep 

 shadows made it rather dark, but every 

 now and then we could see, through a 

 small opening above us, the blue sky 

 and sunshine. I said : " Is this not like 

 the road to success ?" We finally came 

 to where the stream forked, coming 

 from two different directions. We 

 hesitated as to which to follow, but 

 after considerable effort we found the 

 direction to the summit. Then we 

 came to where our stream was only a 

 spring, gushing out of the side of the 



mountain, and just above this were 

 great cliffs to be climbed. I said: "We 

 have reached one of the critical points 

 of our trip, and we had better eat din- 

 ner, rest and refresh ourselves, here 

 where we have plenty of pure cool 

 water, for the climb is steep and jaggy." 

 Should we not do this often, while 

 traveling life's way ? 



After much toil we lifted ourselves 

 up to a part of the clifT where we could 

 look out and see far over the country 

 and down the rugged way we had 

 traveled over. It was grand, and I said : 

 "Is this not in some respects like a suc- 

 cessful career?" 



But we should not lose sight of the 

 possibilities of beekeeping, which was 

 the chief object of this climb. We no- 

 ticed rough bark, crooked trees, with 



thin foliage — the black locust — the 

 source of the light-colored, thick, de- 

 licious honey which we enjoy so much 

 when at our mountain home. We con- 

 tinued our climb, our pathway narrow- 

 ing until, after much physical struggle 

 we placed our feet on the rocky peak. 

 This climb was much like the business 

 climb of life, arduous in the undertak- 

 ing, pleasant in the success. 



Here we spent much time looking 

 over the country. It was grand be- 

 yond description. Leaving this point, 

 we followed the Blue Ridge proper as it 

 led from peak to peak. All along we 

 had been enjoying the cool, ripe, de- 

 licious huckleberries which grew on 

 low bushes about our feet. In many 

 places the mountain's side under the 

 forest appeared blue with the ripe ber- 

 ries. This is a great pollen plant, and 

 it furnishes considerable nectar. The 

 bees build upon it and on the abun- 

 dance of maple that we see, in early 

 spring, and by the time the next honey 

 plants bloom they are ready to begin 

 storing, swarm, etc. 



A little farther we came to a gap on 

 the ridge, where we could see the sun, 

 and it was the most beautiful sunset my 

 eyes ever looked upon. In the oppo- 

 site direction there rolled up hundreds 

 of great mountains, known as the 

 Scaly Mountains, and it seemed as if 

 the sky rested on the peaks of the 

 highest ones. The surface of these 

 mountains consists of rock or granite, 

 but they are dotted here and there with 

 clumps of trees. The sun was kissing 

 them good-night. 



Not far distant, on one of those 

 great mountains, a tower was erected 

 and the ridge we were following led to 

 it. We spent the night in these cliffs, 

 and next morning saw as beautiful a 

 sunrise as the sunset was on the pre- 

 vious evening. 



We found several bee-trees along 

 the way. We passed a number of 

 places where water was running over 

 flat-top rocks, and there saw thousands 



The McCain Yard at Kriitland Ga. 



