200 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPEB. 



December 



I started off the first fine day for more 

 bees. The colony I bought on this trip 

 was in an old-fashioned box-hive, and 

 what to do with it I hardly knew at 

 this time, but soon decided and acted 

 as follows: When clover commenced 

 to bloom I took a hammer and chisel, 

 removed the entire top and fitted in 

 its place a simplicity body, filled with 

 frames and full sheets of foundation. 

 The bees soon took possession of this 

 upper story, and when the queen com- 

 menced to lay and brood in all stages 

 appeared, I took the frames with ad- 

 hering bees and placed them in a chaff 

 hive, moving the old hive to a new lo- 

 cation, thus doing the transferring and 

 swarming at the same time. 



From this time up to the present I 

 have had varying success, owing large- 

 ly, I think, to the chaff hive. Last win- 

 ter I lost one out of 28. Winter before 

 last I lost none and from the 13 colo 

 nies I then had, took one-half ton of 

 comb honey and increased to 28, as be- 

 fore mentioned. This season I have ta- 

 ken one ton of comb, and some ex- 

 tracted honey and increased to 53. 



According to some writers, I should 

 close here. But a few nights ago I had 

 an entirely (to me) new experience. 

 For the first time, I have to report a loss 

 of bees by theft. Two persons carried 

 off one of my best colonies, in "Falcon 

 hive." The hive was new and painted 

 white. I had transferred the bees to 

 said hive but a few days before and 

 chaffed them down for their winter 

 nap. 



And now, in closing, I desire to say 

 to all beginners, do not attempt to win- 

 ter bees in other than chaff hives, and 

 your success, other things being equal, 

 will be assured. 



Ransomville, N. Y. 



I<OW PRICES. 



E. H. Moate, in Bee-Keepers' Record, 

 says bees in Ireland gather large quan- 

 tities of pollen from ivy bloom all 

 through the winter, when weather is 

 favorable. 



Another Subscriber's Opinion as to 

 the Cause. 



Written for the American Bee-Keeper. 



BY M. W. SHEPHERD. 



jTryHE wail comes from all parts of 

 ' ^jW^ the country that the honey crop 

 ^^ is short and yet the price is away 

 down, and the question is asked, "What 

 can be done to advance the price?" 

 Some say hold on to the crop, and oth- 

 ers say sell on your home market. I do 

 not think holding back the crop will 

 very materially advance the price, 

 while if we sell on the home market we 

 can get no more than people can afford 

 to give. Now, there is a reason for low 

 prices, and low prices do not affect 

 honey alone, for we hear complaints of 

 low prices on wheat, oats, corn and 

 many other articles of daily use, and 

 why should this be so, is a question 

 easier asked than answered. Let us ex- 

 amine the case a little and see if we 

 will not find some reasons at least. 

 Who is it that consumes the most of 

 our honey, the laboring classes or the 

 millionaires? We at once say it is the 

 laboi-ing classes. What is the usual 

 wage received by the laboring classes? 

 We must admit it is very low, and after 

 all the expenses that must be met are 

 paid, there is nothing left to buy lux- 

 uries with, and we must admit that 

 honey is a luxury, and one that can be 

 dispensed with. The usual wages in 

 this part of the world is 75 cents per 

 day and the wage-earners board theiii- 

 selves. After paying for the staple ar- 

 ticles of life there is nothing left. It is 

 very reasonable to say that when a 

 man has nothing, you can get nothing. 

 Good, pure cane syrup sells for 30 

 cents per gallon, or less than three cents 

 per pound, and it takes the place of a 

 more expensive sweet. A good, heavy 

 syrup can be made of granulated sugar 

 at a cost of not more than five cents per 

 pound, and we must admit it is pure 

 and wholesome, and the materials for 



