

'^MERICASt 





40th YEAR, 



CHICAGO, ILL., AUGUST 30, 1900, 



No, 35, 



>' Editorial Comments. ^^ ^ 



It's Just the Same "old reliable" American Bee 

 Journal — only it has a brand new bonnet, and very prop- 

 erly " a bee in it." 



The Chicago Convention of the National Bee-Keepers' 

 Association will have closed by the time the majority of 

 our readers receive this number of the American Bee Jour- 

 nal. We hope that, as anticipated, it was the largest and 

 best bee-keepers' convention ever held on this continent. 

 Surely, the program promist a rich treat for all who could 

 attend. We expect very soon to begin the publication of the 

 convention proceedings in these columns. 



A Mission of Bee=Editors.— One of the editors of the 

 British Bee Journal has this to say on the mission of the 

 bee-editors : 



"There can be no reasonable objection to individual 

 bee-keepers making hives for their own use to whatever 

 style, size, or shape they may prefer; but it forms part of 

 our mission as editors to guide readers into the methods of 



management proved by experience to be best While 



allowing perfect freedom for all so far as regards personal 

 preferences, vfe strongly deprecate any general interference 

 with the size or measurement of the standard frame." 



Nothing wrong with that view, as we can see. 



To Find a Queen, one of the plans is to put the combs 

 in pairs, having the pairs a little distance apart, using an 

 additional hive for the needed room. After a time the bees 

 without the queen will show signs of uneasiness, and the 

 operator may look for the queen in the brace of combs 

 where the bees are quiet. W. W. Case gave the plan in 

 Gleanings in Bee-Culture, and Editor Root did not find it a 

 success. The probability is that he did not wait long 

 enough for the bees to have time to discover their queen- 

 lessness ; and still greater is the probability that he did not 

 heed one little item in Mr. Case's instructions, which was 

 to open the hive rather roughly. If a queen is removed 

 from a hive very quietly, a colony may not discover its loss 

 for some hours, while the loss may be discovered in a less 

 number of minutes if the bees be forcibly thrown from the 

 combs, or be otherwise roughly handled. 



New Kinks from the Inexperienced and Others.— It 



should not be supposd that only those with large experience 

 and with large numbers of colonies of bees can write ac- 

 ceptable matter for a beepaper. Sometimes an item is 

 given by a novice that is of value to many others, possibly 

 new to some of the veterans, and yet no one of the veterans 

 familiar with it would think of giving it in print, because 

 of the supposition that all were already familiar with it. 



Often some little kink in bee-keeping may not be common 

 property, and the experienced bee-keeper is always appre- 

 ciative of such things, for it is the little things that oftem 

 count the most. 



Several illustrations of what has just been said have 

 appeared lately. Editor Root told how he got the bet' 

 ter of some cross bees by taking a piece of lath, or some- 

 thing of that kind, and whirling it rapidly in front of his- 

 face, so that every time one of the invaders approacht hiu* 

 there was a dead bee. Dr. Miller said he had used the same 

 plan for many years, but did not know enough to tell about 

 it. No doubt manj' others had thought of and practiced a 

 thing so simple, but like Dr. Miller had not known enough 

 to tell of it. In the July Bee-Keepers' Review the follow- 

 ing item occurs : 



" Bhack-Combs in Supeks are sometimes attacht to 

 the separators, and when the sections are taken out a piece 

 of comb is pulled out. To avoid this trouble, set the super 

 up on end. look thru the spaces, and if any brace-combs are 

 seen, cut thru thetn with a sharp, thin knife, giving the 

 knife a sawing motion." 



To this Editor Hutchinson adds the comment : 



" This is another of those things that I supposed every- 

 body knew, but Mr. J. T. Hairston writes as tho it was quite 

 a discovery to him, and, if so, it may be to some others." 



So do not hesitate to give freely little items of experi- 

 ence you have gained. They may beof as much value to 

 others as to you. If not generally known, such items will 

 always be welcomed in these columns. If so well known 

 that you do not find what you have sent appearing in print, 

 do not be discouraged ; the next item you send may be just 

 the thing that is wanted. 



Should Extracted Honey be Left Open in tanks or 

 cans for the sake of improving its body by evaporation ? 

 was a question discust in the Canadian convention, as re- 

 ported in the Canadian Bee Journal. Mr. McKnight, with 

 whom the others seemed to agree, exprest himself somewhat 

 strongly against it, on the ground that such exposure would 

 allow the aroma to escape. He said : 



" It altogether depends upon the character of the vessel 

 in which it is put, and the conditions of the atmosphere, 

 whether it improves or deteriorates. There is one thing 

 certain, that if you put honey into an open vessel and keep 

 it there for a certain length of time, it will lose its aroma 

 whether it improves in body or fails. The essential oil 

 which gives the honey the aroma is a volatile oil, and will 

 pass off if it gets a chance, and it will get a chance in an 

 open vessel ; therefore, it will deteriorate so far as losing 

 its aroma is concerned. As to its body, that depends much 

 upon the temperature, the condition of the atmosphere, and 

 the season of the year." 



Dampening Sections . for Folding. — When one-piece 

 sections have been allowed to become dry they can not be 

 folded without much breaking, and must be moistened in 

 some way at the joints, where the wood is to bend. In^ 

 Gleanings in Bee-C-ulture mention was made of taking 30' 

 or more at a time, and Dr. Miller said it was too slow work- 



