374 



November, 1914 



We often pack in both at the same 

 time. 



In this section we produce two crops 

 of honey a year in the same supers and 

 sections. We run our bees here for 

 comb honey exclusively, but the first 

 flow is very inferior honey, so we try 

 to get as many combs as possible built 

 in sections during this tlow, in order 

 to have a great number of combs built 

 for the next flow. Our idea was to do 

 extracting in the upper room, so the 

 honey would run into tanks below. 

 Then the better honey could be packed 

 below for convenience, and loaded in 

 or out at either end of the building. If 

 necessary this room could be used for 

 a workshop. On either side of these 

 rooms are built two sheds 12x24 feet. 

 One is used for vehicles and the other 

 as a workshop. 



American Vee Journal 



lack of this, for so much could be ac- 

 complished if we could only have a 

 few good meetings. 



If we could fully realize how much 

 may be accomplished in such social 

 gatherings, it would be no trouble to 

 call a meeting and get the beekeepers 

 out. The trouble lies mostly in get- 

 ting started. Let us start in time and 

 have one or more meetings next sea- 

 son at the place most suitable for all. 

 If nothing should prevent, I for one 

 would attend, and will you dear reader ? 

 If so, drop us a card to this effect, and 

 we will see how much interest there is 

 among the beekeepers in this direc- 

 tion, and later we will make a report. 



Cleaning Cappings 



Some time ago we gave our method 

 of allowing the bees to clean the wet 

 extracting combs right out in the open 

 by the side of the honey house or the 

 edge of the apiary. They make a nice 

 clean job of it, and there is no waste. 

 Such combs never exciterobbing when 

 distributed. What about the cappings ? 

 The bees clean them out in the open, 

 too. (See the cut which explains it.) 

 But let me say that we allow each day's 

 cappings to remain over night in the 

 uncapping tank, stirring I hem up well 

 so they will drain as much as possible 

 during the night. 



The first thing next morning they 

 are removed so as to make room for 

 the day's extracting, and dumped into 

 an open slat box. This is set on a 

 stand consisting of two small boxes 

 and a sheet of corrugated galvanized 

 roofing. This has about 2 inches fall 

 to the front, and under it is set a tub 

 well filled with straw. The cappings 

 are well dampened and stirred and left 

 to drain until next morning, when they 

 are dumped into the comb bin, and the 

 previous day's run put in their place. 

 The bees clean up all the cappings and 

 whatever may have drained out from 

 the sprinkling. 



Beekeepers' Meetings 



Gleanings in Bee Culture for Oct. 1 

 and the American Bee Journal at dif- 

 ferent times during the summer dwelt 

 largely on the sociable side of our in- 

 dustry. Groups of beekeepers are 

 shown by clear beautiful cuts. These 

 occasions are called Field Days, and 

 must be very popular from the way 

 they are attended by beekeepers who 

 live in different sections of the coun- 

 try where our industry counts the 

 most. 



When it comes to the social feature 

 of our business, I sometimes feel that 

 it is unfortunate to have one's lot cast 

 down here in these backwood regions 

 where all that is shut off. As I looked 

 over the bright faces of those at these 

 great gatherings, I felt lonesome and 

 wished that I could have more of the 

 companionship of those who are en- 

 gaged in like business with me. 



This beautiful feature of our craft is 

 at a very low ebb in most sections of 

 Dixie, and we are beginning to feel the 



Cypress Lumber— Hive {Making 



Since advocating cypress lumber for 

 hive making, a great number of en- 

 quiries have come in asking where 

 such lumber can be obtained. In the 

 South almost any large lumber firm 

 handles it. The Hubard Cypress Co., of 

 Waycross, Ga., is a large concern man- 

 ufacturing this kind of lumber from 

 their own timber, and no doubt it 

 could be obtained of them at very rea- 

 sonable prices. Their output of one- 

 inch air-dried boards is very great, as 

 their lumber yards where this lumber 

 is cured cover many acres of land. 



A number who have written me are 

 going to club with their neighbors and 

 get a carload for hive making. Let me 

 offer a few suggestions about buying 

 lumber and hive making. Boards can 

 be bought dressed on both sides to 



13-10 inch, which is just right for 

 general hive making. They run from 

 2 to 24 inches, and some above this, in 

 width. The widths I get run out about 

 evenly in general hive making. By 

 taking it in this way you can get it at 

 a greatly reduced price. Then, too, I 

 always buy about half and half of No. 1 

 and No. 2 grades. This also greatly 

 reduces the price. The No. 2 boards 

 of course have some defects in them, 

 but they are easily worked out in the 

 smaller parts of hives, and never result 

 in actual waste. However, there must 

 be some good boards for covers, hive- 

 bodies, etc., and the No. 1 grade will 

 covi-r this. 



There is usually some worm-eaten 

 lumber in the No. 2 grade. This I work 

 into bottom-boards. The small worm 

 holes do not allow bees to escape 

 through them, and soon they are filled 

 from the droppings of the bees or 

 sealed over with propolis. As hive 

 parts consist of many small pieces, 

 there is very little actual waste in a car 

 of lumber. 



If one person in every great com- 

 munity of beekeepers would buy a No. 

 4 Barnes saw without foot power, a 3- 

 horse power gasolene engine with all 

 the hive-making equipments for the 

 saw, a car of lumber could be worked 

 up in this way. It would mean econ- 

 omy in bee-supply expenditure, and this 

 extra money could be put into "more 

 bees." It is not so much the actual 

 price of the factory-made goods as it 

 is the very high freight rates which we 

 have to contend with, and which are 

 very unsatisfactory. 



Conducted by J. L. Byer. Mt. Joy, Ontario. 



The Canada Conventions 



Glad to note that the Editor of the 

 American Bee Journal expects to be 

 with the Quebec beekeepers on Nov. 

 12. As our Ontario convention will be 

 held in Toronto a few days after that 

 date, we will expect to have him with 

 us as well. We shall also be glad to 

 welcome as many more as can meet 

 with us from any or all of the States 

 of the Union, in addition to the hosts 

 of friends we hope to meet from On- 

 tario and other Canadian provinces. 



Alsike Clover Seed 



That the calamitous war now raging 

 over the world may do some special 

 interests a certain amount of tempor- 

 ary good may be true, yet I take the 

 view that war is " hell," and the " bene- 

 fits" are of a negative quantity and 

 quality. In so far as the beek epers 

 are concerned, I see no place for 

 them where there is any benefit from 

 the war, even if we dared for a moment 

 to think selfishly when millions are 

 suffering from the awful horrors of 

 war in reality. 



For the present at least it looks as 



though the chief source of our honey 



in Ontario is about to be curtailed. 



The main market for alsike clover seed 



is in the counties on the North Sea, 



and with conditions as at present the 



market has ceased to exist. Seedmen 



will not buy this year's crop at any 



price, and a few of the farmers are 



plowing up the alsike that would give 



them next year's crop of seed. While 



I think they are making a bad move, 



nevertheless we are confronted with a 



fact and not a theory, and with a very 



slim prospect for next year at best, it 



seems too bad to see some of the few 



fields of alsike we have being plowed 



under. 



^ • ^ 



Why Does the Two to One Mixture 

 Sometimes Granulate? 



Since writing that item concerning 

 the proportion of sugar and water in 

 preparing fall feed for bees, I have 

 done some studying as to why friend 

 McKinuon should have trouble with 

 granulation when using the two to one 

 mixture under discussion. In a private 

 letter he tells me he uses the same 

 method and the same brand of sugar 

 that I use, and while he says he has had 



