May 3, 1900. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



281 



about 100 colonies to gather it, or 100 pounds of honey for 

 each colony. Of this it will take about 70 pounds to keep each 

 colony a year, leaving me only 30 pounds of surplus to the 

 colony, or 3,000 pounds from the whole yard. But if I keep 

 stronger and more industrious bees, so that each colony 

 would gather 140 pounds while the other was gathering- 100 

 pounds, it would require but 71 colonies to gather the whole 

 10,000 pounds ; and as it would not require any more to 

 keep each colony than it does the poorer stock, I should get 

 5,000 pounds of surplus instead of 3,000 pounds, when I had 

 to keep 100 colonies, to say nothing of the smaller number 

 of colonies to care for, or hives to keep in repair. And 

 what is true of ray home yard is true to a greater or less ex- 

 tent of any other yards. See ?" 



Dr. C. C. Miller and Family (Mrs. Miller and her 

 sister. Miss Emma Wilson) gave us a short office call last 

 week when in Chicago on a shopping expedition. They 

 may well be called " The Happy Three." 



* # * « * 



great 



SwEST Labor. — " How is it you're such a 

 worker?" askt the grasshopper. 



"Because I love to work," said the busy bee. "I 

 couldn't be happy without it. In fact, you have noticed 

 when my busiest season is on I'm in clover." — Philadelphia 

 Press. 



♦ ♦ * ♦ ♦ 



Mr. W. J. PiCKARD, of Richland Co.. Wis., dropt in to 

 see us on Thursday of last week. He reported their nearly 

 400 colonies of bees as having wintered with a loss of only 

 about 10. His daughter. Miss Ada, will run her large api- 

 ary again this season, as usual. Mr. Pickard has been in- 

 vesting in a few young samples of Polled Angus cattle. 

 With the good women of the family to look after the bees, 

 and Mr. P. to take care of the blooded farm stock, they have 

 a pretty strong combination. 



Editor Ernest R. Root had this to say in the last 

 number of his paper, dated April IS : 



" I have just returned from attending a convention of 

 the Chicago Bee-Keepers' Association — an organization 

 that takes in bee-keepers of the city and immediate vicinity. 

 The convention, while not large in attendance, was an ex- 

 cellent one, and the discussions were of the very best. 

 After the convention I had a delightful visit with Dr. Miller 

 and his family." 



* * * * * 



Editor Leahy's Good-By. — An editorial in the Pro- 

 gressive Bee-Keeper begins by saying that in these days of 

 telephones the word " good-by " has not connected with it 

 the pathos of the olden time, but the good-by that he is now 

 to speak is sad as that of yore. After thus stirring one up 

 to wonder whether his editorial pencil or typewriter is to be 

 forever stilled, or what other thing is to happen, he relieves 

 the strain by saying that about 300 delinquent subscribers 

 are to be " good-byed " if they don't at once walk up to the 

 captain's office and settle. Business, that. 



* ♦ ♦ # » 



The Department of Criticism, in the Bee-Keepers' 

 Review, which for some time has been in charge of Hon. 

 R. L. Taylor, appears for the last time in the April number. 

 Editor Hutchinson gives as the reason for its discontinu- 

 ance : " I think the space can be better used in a different 

 way." No doubt about that. Mr. Taylor is a clear and 

 forceful writer, and undoubtedly a good bee-keeper, but how 

 he could consent to put in his time and space, as he some- 

 times did, in petty pickings and hypercriticisms, is beyond 

 our comprehension. But, then, we are just a little city edi- 

 tor of a bee-paper that only aspires to give its readers the 

 genuine gospel of practical bee-keeping, and likely will be 

 excused if we fail to appreciate some of the fine attempts to 

 show the wonderful difference existing between the tweedle- 

 dee and the tweedle-dum in things apicultural. 



Bees and Fruit. -Every fruit, flower and vegetable 

 grower should keep bees to aid in disseminating pollen on 

 those blossoms that do not thoroly fertilize themselves. 

 Good trees, buds and blossoms do not insure a fruit crop, 

 but the pistil must be fertilized, cultivation continued, and 

 the tree sprayed to check the ravages of destructive pests. 

 — American Fruit and Vegetable Journal. 



Ants in the Honey-Rootn.- H. D. Burrell says in the 



Bee-Keepers' Review : 



" If you are troubled by ants, make a bench to keep 

 honey on by laying 2x6 inch pieces of lumber edgewise on 

 the floor and covering them with boards. Make a chalk- 

 mark one inch wide entirely around the middle, lengthwise, 

 of the 2x6 pieces, and not an ant can crawl up over it. They 

 can't get a foot-hold." 



Tall Sections. — C. A. Hatch argues in the Bee-Keepers' 

 Review for 4x5 sections. For some reason they are better 

 finisht, and the yield is larger. He says : 



•'In answering the most common argument against 

 tall sections, viz., cost of extra supers, we will ignore the 

 first point in their favor, i. e., better appearance, and take 

 only the last two — finish and quantity. I think, from ex- 

 tended observation at the apiary of Mr. Mendelson, who 

 had 4x5 sections by the ton, that the grade was raised on at 

 least 10 per cent. But, to be moderate, we will cut that in 

 two, and call it 5 percent ; and the 10 percent of increase of 

 yield we will also halve, so, on a SO-pound yield, we would 

 have 2,'i cents gain for grade, and 25 cents for yield ; which 

 would give us a gain of 27'2 cents. Can a man afford to 

 lose 27 ,'-2 cents to save the cost of a 15-cent super ?" 



Production of Extracted Honey with 8=Frame Hives is 



the topic of Harry Lathrop in the Bee-Keepers' Review. 

 He thinks it better to be prepared to work for both comb 

 and extracted, as conditions may be more favorable for one 

 or the other; prefers a 2-frame Cowan to any 4-frame ex- 

 tractor. Whenever a colony becomes strong enough, he 

 would give a second story of brood-frames, if necessary 

 changing combs from one story to the other, so as to get 

 brood in as many as possible. At the beginning of the 

 honey-flow, an excluder is put over and a third story given 

 for surplus. When this is pretty well filled, it is raised and 

 another put under it. If necessary, a fifth story is added, 

 always keeping the ripest honey at the top, and extracting 

 as soon as fit. If the honey in any comb is the least bit 

 watery, it is returned to the hive for ripening. 



Management of Swarms for Comb Honey is given by 

 J. F. Otto in the Bee-Keepers' Review. A swarm is put into 

 a hive consisting of two Heddon brood-cases, the upper one 

 only being provided with narrow strips of foundation. Mr. 

 Otto continues : 



" The next swarm that issues is handled in the same 

 way ; and then carried and set by the side of the other 

 swarm that issued first. The two swarms are left that way 

 until each swarm has built its upper case full of combs. As 

 soon as that is done, I remove the lower empty brood-case of 

 each swarm, and unite the two swarms by putting the two 

 brood-cases, with queens and bees, one upon the other, on 

 one bottom-board, thereby making one colony of the two. 

 I put on the cover and leave them that way until the next 

 day, when I lift off the upper brood-case, put a queen-ex- 

 cluding honey-board on the lower case, shake all the bees 

 from the upper case down in front of the hive, and put the 

 upper case back on the hive, leaving the queen-excluder be- 

 tween the two cases. Then I go to the old colonies from 

 which the swarms issued, take off the supers and put them 

 on this young newly united colony.' 



" The old colonies are supplied with Heddon brood-cases 

 filled with empty combs, and are kept busy filling old combs 

 with honey which is to be extracted, or to be used in the fall 

 for supplying such colonies as are in need of honey." 



