1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



207 



But as night was near, and they remained 

 there, I took a small stick and began to 

 spread them a little, as there were so many. 

 I found a queen among them ; I took her 

 with the bees to the hive they came from, 

 put them at the entrance, and they all went 

 in. Before taking them back, I looked into 

 the hive and found they had plenty of 

 honey to last them through the winter. 

 Now, why did they leave the hive like that ? 



We have not had more than 10 cold days 

 this winter here. It is so warm that the 

 fruit-trees are budding already ; if it keeps 

 warm like this until March, and then comes 

 cold, we will have very little fruit this 

 year. W. W. Seeley. 



Norfolk, Va., Feb. 15. 



Tolerably Good Season in 1895. 



The past season was only a tolerably 

 good one in this part of Missouri. In the 

 early spring of lSi)5 the weather was warm ; 

 fruit-bloom of all kinds was early and 

 abundant. As the weather was fine, the 

 bees were able to work on the bloom early 

 and late, so they soon filled their hives to 

 overflowing with brood and considerable 

 honey. About May 10 there came a cold 

 spell that lasted until fruit-bloom was 

 gone, then we had very little honey and no 

 swarms until basswood bloom, which was 

 about July 10. This bloom was very good. 

 The colonies averaged about one swarm 

 each, and gathered on an average about .36 

 pounds of comb honey, which sold in my 

 home market at 20 cents per section of one- 

 pound. After basswood bloom my bees 

 barely made a living. 



Later on I will tell how the bees wintered, 

 and how I managed them when I discov- 

 ered, late in the fall, that they would not 

 have enough stores to winter on. 



John W. Beattt. 



Excelsior Springs, Mo., Feb. 15. 



A Beginner's Experience. 



In 1804 I started into winter with 4 colo- 

 nies of bees, and in the spring I had none. 

 I never knew there were any books that 

 tell how to keep bees. Last spring I bought 

 two colonies, and now I have seven in good 

 condition. I use the S and 10 frame Lang- 

 stroth hive. I don't think I could keep bees 

 without the American Bee JournaL Look 

 through one year's subscription, and see 

 how many valuable points it gives. 



Harvey Brokaw. 



Newville, Ohio, Feb. IT. 



Sweet Clover — An Open 'Winter. 



I do wish that I was able to answer all 

 ther questions satisfactorily propounded to 

 me regarding sweet clover since I wrote 

 that last article on it. I have found out 

 since, to fully satisfy me, that I am every 

 bit as much of a "know nothing " as Dr. 

 Miller at times pretends to be. If I am 

 always to be "cornered" the way I have 

 been, when I write a piece for the Ameri- 

 can Bee Journal, I think I had better 

 "swear oft," and keep mum in the future. 

 Nearly every day I receive letters of in- 

 quiry, and, of course, I try my level best 

 to satisfy those anxious to learn more about 

 sweet clover. However, I am glad to know 

 that sweet clover is on the boom, and those 

 interested will have to try it on their own 

 hook, in their respective localities, and 

 thus satisfy themselves. 



I am sorry to say to Mr. E. S. Miles, of 

 Denison, Iowa, that I never attempted to 

 harvest the seed of melilot in any consider- 

 able quantity, hence I do not know how it 

 is best handled. But still, I have my idea 

 how I think it ought to be done. 



To handle the unchecked growth of sweet 

 clover for the purpose of securing the seed, 

 is out of the question, I think. By cutting 

 it before blooming in the month of June, 

 and then harvest the second growth when 

 properly matured, strikes me as being the 

 proper way to proceed. The second growth 

 admits of being cut and handled by a self- 

 binding machine, I think; and thus could 



be handled. But the seed drops off easily 

 when very dry. and it, no doubt, requires 

 careful handling to prevent this, so as to 

 secure the seed. 



It would be interesting to learn the nwdns 

 operandi in practice in the province of 

 Bokhara, from which the imported melilot 

 seed is shipped here. All the imported seed 

 of melilot is well hulled, while all the seed 

 grown in this country is largely still in the 

 hull when sold; — and here I will drop the 

 subject, because — "I don't know " anything 

 positive about it. 



We have had, so far, an extremely mild 

 and open winter, and my bees (on the sum- 

 mer stands in my bee-shed) have wintered 

 perfectly. They have consumed more of 

 their stores than in former winters. On 

 Feb. 31 I found in most hives from one to 

 three combs with more or less capped brood 

 in them. I have re-arranged them where 

 needed, and supplied some colonies with 

 reserve combs well tilled with honey, so 

 that they will need no further attention 

 until about April. 



From Jan. 1 until now, my bees had just 

 30 flights— a little too much of a good thing 

 in winter, I think. 1 presume, though, that 

 March and April will come in and do some 

 equalizing, by bringing us one cold wave 

 after another, and the bees then will suffer 

 the consequences. Wm. Stollei'. 



Grand Island, Nebr., Feb. 24. 



[We hope that any of our readers who 

 know will tell us how to handle sweet 

 clover in order to get the seed from it. 

 There are many particulars about this 

 plant that ought ,to be more generally 

 known, and we shall be very glad to pub- 

 lish everything that is sent us regarding it. 

 We k/ww its honey is very fine, and we 

 think its real value as a general utility 

 plant on the farm needs only to be more 

 widely known to insure a more general 

 growing of it throughout the country. 

 Then will the bees and their keepers laugh 

 in the abundance of sweets which the hives 

 will always contain. — Editor.] 



Bees Killed with Poison. 



On March 31, 1S9.5, I shipped by express 

 four colonies of Italian bees to H. R, 

 Hearne, of Robinson county, Tex. He re- 

 ported lately to me that he received them 

 all right, and they did well — swarmed eight 

 times. About the latter part of August he 

 put poison on his cotton, for the purpose of 

 killing the boll-worm. The bees were at 

 work on the cotton-bloom at the time, and 

 in ten days they were all dead. Now he 

 wants more bees of the same kind. 



The poison consisted of Paris green and 

 London purple, put on in a dry state with 

 a blower. The bees never returned from 

 the field where they got the poison. All 

 died from home, leaving their hives full of 

 nice honey, and not a dead bee, or a live 

 one, in the hives. 



This should be a warning to bee-keepers, 

 to be careful how they use poison. 



Hunt Co., Tex. W. R, Graham. 



Sweet Clover Starts Out-Apiaries. 



Sweet clover is the best thing I know, 

 considering the continuous growth and 

 never-failing honey-producing qualities. 

 Thirty years ago I sowed it along the banks 

 of a creek which runs near my apiary, and 

 it has been carried down stream by high 

 water reaching the Cuyahoga river four 

 miles away, and several miles down that, 

 catching on to the sand-bars and low places 

 until the quantity thus self-sown warranted 

 me in establishing an out-apiary at the 

 junction of the creek and river, four miles 

 away, and I am contemplating establishing 

 another, three or four miles further down. 



Bedford, Ohio, Feb. 39. J. B. Hains. 



iJlaglc Section Press and Founda- 

 tion Fastener is an invention made by 

 James Cormac, of Des Moines, Iowa. He 

 says this about it: 



It does perfect work. No foundation will 

 loosen from the section. Jj-inch wide 

 starters, or any width to a full section, 

 with the ease and surety of attachment, 

 and can be used when too cold to fasten 

 with any machine that fastens by pressure. 

 All malleable iron and steel, except the box 

 and lamp. Lamp is brass, with metal 

 chimney with isinglass opening to see the 

 blaze of wick. Dimensions, 7'iX~%. When 

 packed, lamp is in the box; closes sections 

 from two inches to as narrow as made. 



To Operate. — Lay the section on the 

 door by bringing the ends together as 



Bee-Keeper's Guide— see page 2(16. 



shown in the etching, with your left hand 

 on the handle (not shown), close the door, 

 allow the "starter" to touch the hot iron 

 plate, slacken pressure on door, bring foun- 

 dation down on section, the door opens and 

 the work is done. 



One Handling op Sections. — The 

 "Magic" is fastened to stand, table or 

 shelf by two malleable iron clamps at- 

 tached to back of box. From three to four 

 thousand per day can be closed and filled 

 with one of these "Magics." A child can 

 operate it. Cannot get out of order. The 

 lever that closes the section is hinged with 

 ball socket and provided with a rod and 

 nut on bottom of box; by turning nut will 

 throw the door outward. 



To Use It.— Open the door, which is 

 hinged on the upper end; if spring is not 

 on the lever, place it on, and if the pin is 

 out of head block place that in. Now you 

 shut ihe door and it will open itself, ready 

 to receive a section. Place the lamp in 

 position, as shown in engraving. Lay sec- 

 tion on door, one scallop end up, one 

 straight side to left and to right; by shut- 

 ting the door you will gain instruction. 

 When commencing to work, cut your foun- 

 dation and pile it up handy ; pile one-piece 

 sections up with wide end toward you, 

 with grooves uppermost; as you lay sec- 

 tion on door, close door with one hand and 

 pick up foundation with the other, and lay 

 it on block; touch tongue; if your lamp is 

 of right blaze the wax will melt at the 

 touch as you open the door; that melted, 

 follows the foundation and is deposited on 

 section, holding it safe and sure. 



I claim for this machine that each year a 

 person having 15 to 30 colonies of bees and 

 producing section honey can save the price 

 of machine. 



BEE-KEEPERS ! 



Send me Cabinet or Card Pluito^raph and 25 

 ct8.. and I will send you H doz, Mineite Pho- 

 tosraplis made on best Arlstotype paper. Ex- 

 act LiKENES-s. It. E. PirriflAN, 



Bee-Keeper and Photographpr. 

 i;jA GKIFTON, N. C, 



