1896. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



323 



Adulteration — More Action and Less Talk. 



BY ED JOLLEY. 



Editor Root says in Gleanings, that adulteration of honey 

 seems to be on the increase, owing to the apathy and hush-up 

 policy of bee-keepers in general. Now this is a question with 

 two sides to it. There is doubtless a great deal of honey adul- 

 terated, and probably it is increasing, but I am very loth to 

 attribute the cause of it to any hush-up policy on the part of 

 the bee-keepers. I am more inclined to think that the abor- 

 tive howls of a few over-zealous bee-keepers has not only 

 called public attention to the fact that adulteration of honey 

 is rife — and thereby placed the ban of suspicion on the gen- 

 uine article — but they have shown those who are unprincipled 

 enough to adulterate honey, how utterly helpless we are, un- 

 der our present laws, to protect ourselves. 



Now, I am as bitter against the adulteration of our pro- 

 duct as any one can be, but I think this clash and clatter, be- 

 fore we have secured laws that will help us, is premature, and 

 will not avail us anything ; and is quite as injurious to bee- 

 keepers as the adulteration itself. It would serve our pur- 

 pose far better for the bee-keepers of each State to try to im- 

 press upon their different representatives our need of laws 

 that will protect our industry. I have no doubt but what the 

 united efforts of the bee-keepers would be successful. This is 

 the same road the dairymen had to travel to secure laws 

 against the adulteration of their product. A few years ago 

 the oleomargarine makers were making things look pretty 

 blue for them, but instead of rushing into print with such 

 statements as — "half the butter on the market is oleo," and 

 " imitation is so perfect that an expert can hardly detect it," 

 etc. — they organized and succeeded in having the business 

 pretty generally out-lawed. Now, if we had laws so that we 

 could punish the adulterators, there might be some excuse for 

 making a fuss, but, as it is, I think it would be better to talk 

 less and act more. Franklin, Pa. 





Transferring Bees — How Not to Do It. 



BY EMERSON T. ABBOTT. 



As this is the season when bees are usually transferred, a 

 few words on this subject may not be out of place. I am fre- 

 quently asked by the inexperienced how to transfer bees from 

 old box-hives to modern hives, and I now make it a point to 

 say, " Do not do it." As this answer is not in accordance with 

 the usual teaching on this subject, it may not be amiss for me 

 to give my reasons for the " faith that is in me." 



As I now see things, bees are always transferred at a loss, 

 and in most cases I think the beginner makes a mistake if he 

 undertakes it. With the little experience which he has had, 

 he is almost sure to make a bungling job of it. Neither do I 

 think it will pay, even though the operator is an expert. The 

 interference with their work, and the loss of brood that is 

 sure to follow from transferring a colony of bees at this sea- 

 son of the year, is sure to amount to more than the benefits to 

 be derived from the process. 



Do not understand me to mean that there are no benefits to 

 be derived from having a colony of bees in a good, modern 

 hive, as there can be no question about this, in my mind. The 

 advantages to the bee-keeper of the movable-frame hive over 

 any box-hive are very great, but the loss incurred in making 

 the change is what has led me to devise some other method of 

 securing the end desired. There was a time when I believed 

 in and practiced transferring, but now, if a man should come 

 to me and say, "I have 10 colonies of bees in old box-hives, 

 and I want to try the modern hive, as I get nothing out of ray 

 bees as they are managed at present," I would advise him to 

 proceed as follows : 



Leave the bees where they are, but crowd them down into 



the lower part of the hive and let them remain there until 

 they swarm. In the meantime, get 10 good hanging-frame 

 hives, and fit them up with foundation in the brood-frames, 

 and starters in the sections. The usual charge in this country 

 for transferring is $1.00, and this will more than pay for the 

 foundation. When the bees swarm, be on hand and set one of 

 the new hives on the stand where the box-hive from which the 

 swarm has issued stands, first having moved the old hive back 

 a few feet, with the entrance turned the opposite way from 

 what it has been. Hive the swarm in the new hive, and let 

 the old hive remain where it is until the next day. Then turn 

 it around and set it close up beside the new hive, with the 

 entrance the same way. Leave it here about two weeks and 

 then move it to some other part of the yard, and let all of the 

 flying bees go to the new hive. By following out these in- 

 structions, he will soon have 10 strong colonies of bees in 

 modern hives, and I think he will get more than twice as 

 much honey from the 10 colonies as he would if he had gone 

 to the trouble of transferring them, or the expense of having 

 it done. 



He can repeat this process until he has all the bees he 

 wants in modern hives, and then he can dispose of his bees in 

 the box-hives to some one who wants to go through the same 

 proviess which he has in getting a start in bees, or he can keep 

 them for a " nest egg " some spring after a long, hard winter 

 when the bees all die off in the modern hives; for there is no 

 question in my mind but what bees winter better, taking one 

 winter with another, in the old-fashioned, tall box-hives than 

 they do in our modern hives with shallow frames. If it were 

 not for the other benefits which more than overbalance the 

 chance of loss, I would not use a modern hive at all. The 

 problem in modern bee-keeping seems to be to get the bees 

 through the winter strong and healthy. 



If one does transfer his bees, I trust he will not use 

 thorns, wire nails, or sticks to fasten the combs in the frames, 

 as is recommended in most bee-books, and also in the Govern- 

 ment Bulletin No. 1, just issued. Wrapping-twine is just as 

 good, and is preferable in some respects, and is much more 

 easily put on and taken off. In fact, the bees will take it off 

 themselves, if given time enough, but I prefer cutting it off 

 with a sharp knife after a day or two. 



St. Joseph, Mo. 



Sweet Clover in the South — Grown as Regular 

 Farm Crop. 



BY M. SI. BALDRID6E. 



The correspondence below will, I think, explain itself as 

 the reader proceeds. As will be seen, the letters were written 

 by a man who has had a long and extensive experience in 

 growing sweet clover for stock and for improving the soil. 

 Now, as this correspondence was not intended for the public 

 eye, the reader will please excuse the omission of the writer's 

 name and postoflBce address, and be content with simply the 

 facts presented. I will give dates, for they seem to be nec- 

 essary : *" 



, Mississippi, Oct. 26, 1894. 



I sow about 50 acres of sweet clover every spring, and any 

 time between the 1st of February and the 15th of April. As a 

 rule, I plow and harrow the ground before sowing the seed. I 

 then sow about 15 pounds of unhulled seed per acre, and do 

 not cover it at all. I have never failed to get a good stand. 

 Some times I sow the seed upon land not plowed at all, and 

 even then I seldom fail to secure a good "catch." It will 

 grow on Bermuda or Johnson grass sod, and it is, in my opin- 

 ion, a better plant for enriching the land than cow-pea vines 

 or red clover. 



Sweet clover must be a good honey-plant, for my fields 

 are alive with bees when the plant is in blossom. I cannot 

 imagine where the bees come from, for I keep none, and they 

 seem to be very scarce in my neighborhood. They must come, 

 so it seems to me, a distance of from 4 to 5 miles. I know 

 but little about the habits of bees, for I never had the least 



