tHE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



5t 



Send us fifty cents and secure the 

 egular visits of The Bee Keeper for a 

 hole year. 



The marriage of Miss Constance Me- 

 oa Root and Arthur Lonson Boyden 

 ccurred February 1, 1898, at Medina, 

 hio. The bride is a daughter of Mr. 

 I. Root, the well-known manufac- 

 irer of apiarian supplies, and Mr. Boy- 

 en, who was at one time connected 



th the office of the W. T. Falconer 

 [fg. Co., is at present an employe of 

 ae A. I. Root Company at Medina, 

 he Bee-Keeper extends sincere well- 



Of John Newton, president of the Ox- 

 )rd Bee-keepers' Association, the 

 anadian Bee Journal well says: "He 

 a young bee-keeper of more than or- 

 nary promise, and is already in the 

 ont ranks." We are pleased to an- 

 3unce that Mr. Newton has consented 

 > write a series of articles for The 

 merican Bee-Keeper, and we are now 

 iticipating the pleasure of introduc- 

 ig to our readers this rising young 

 Marist of Canada in the next issue of 

 he Bee-Keeper. 



The apiarian display at the Trans- 

 ississippi- and International Expos- 

 ion at Omaha, next silmmer, will, 

 ithout doubt, be the gi-andest ever 

 )ened to the public. A special build- 

 g is being erected to accommodate 

 le extensive exhibits of bees, apiarian 

 jpliances and apiary products. The 

 ureau of Bee Industries is in charge 

 Commissioner E. Whitcomb, of 

 riend, Neb., who is sparing no effort 



eclipse all previous efforts in this 

 le. One thing is certain, the work is 



competent hands. 



EARLY SPRING WORK. 

 The first work of importance when 

 ;es are out of winter quarters in the 

 ring, is to ascertain the strength of 

 ch colony, and to allow no more 

 om in the hive than is absolutely 

 •cessary to accommodate the bees it 



contains. By the use of division 

 boards the combs in each hive should 

 be reduced to the covering capacity of 

 the colony, warm cushions of chaff or 

 sawdust tucked snugly over the frames, 

 the entrances contracted and every 

 precaution taken to retain the animal 

 heat within the hive. It is of equal im- 

 portance that each colony be provided 

 with a supply of honey or a substitute, 

 where their natural stores are running 

 low. 



There is no time that the strength 

 of a colony may be "sized up" as ac- 

 curately and quickly as on a chilly 

 spring morning, when the bees are 

 huddled together in the smallest space 

 possible, upon the brood. Three men, 

 or even one man and two smart boys, 

 can easily go over an apiary of 200 

 colonies before breakfast, and ascer- 

 tain just which hives need honey, and 

 exactly how many frames each one 

 should be contracted to. One goes 

 ahead and removes the lids, and caps, ■ 

 if used, and the apiarist following 

 closely, places his right hand under 

 the back of the hive, and by the 

 weight "spots" the light ones as well 

 as those that have honey to spare; and 

 at the same time jerks back the quilt, 

 and at a glance notes the exact number 

 of combs containing bees. The exist- 

 ing conditions are called, as the quilt 

 is quickly replaced, and noted upon 

 the record slate by man No. 3, and is 

 a ready and certain guide to the treat- 

 ment required by each colony when the 

 weather is warm enough to go through 

 and examine for queens and to con- 

 tract the brood chambers. 



It is quite impossible to determine 

 the right number of combs to allow a 

 colony, during warm spring days when 

 they are active, as a weak stock will 

 often make a big showing of bees un- 

 der such circumstances, and it is well 

 to confine them to the number of 

 combs that they occupied when ex- 

 amined in the morning, regardless of 

 their apparently increased strength. 



