THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



December 



honey and some of his hives had two 

 and three stories on. The only partly 

 filled frames were those which had 

 been added recently, and on these the 

 bees were still at work, and he ex- 

 pected all -vN^oiild be filled clear up before 

 frost nipped the asters, golden-rod and 

 smartweed, which were the sources of 

 nectar in this vicinity. He reported 

 having had a swarm in September. 



There have been several frosts since 

 the meeting took place, a particularly 

 heavy "white" one on Oct. 17, with 

 high winds for two days following, 

 which appear to have checked the 

 flight of the bees except during the 

 warmer portions of the day. 



T notice quite a diversity in the prices 

 of comb honey exposed for sale in the 

 store windows along one of our prin- 

 cipal streets. At one corner, where they 

 handle an enormous amount of it, the 

 placard in the window reads "16 cents 

 a pound" by weight. A half block away 

 another store displays the prices "11 

 and 12 cents." Two blocks distant, 

 "fine New York state clover honey" is 

 marked "25 cents." Near by another 

 store has a "drive" in "Pennsylvania 

 white clover honey at 16 cents." Five 

 or six doors away is a fourth store, 

 which has a bargain in "clover honey 

 at 20 cents." It seems that "yon pays 

 your money and you takes your 

 choice." 



Rutledge, Pa. 



Trial of Plain Sections. 



Written for the American Bee- Keeper. 



BY M. L. MAIN. 



f^ WILL give you the result of this 

 (d season's experience with the plain 

 ' section and fence separator. The 

 hives used were the W. T. Falconer 

 Mfg. Co.'s thin-walled, eight-frame 

 style, mostly single story, but I used a 

 few double story hives of the same kind 

 also, as some claim that bees in two- 

 story hives are not inclined to swarm. 

 Now, I desire to say that the first 

 sAvarm of the season was from a "dou- 



ble-decker," which had also a super 

 of empty sections on top. The bees 

 were hybrids, good at honey gather- 

 ing and equally energetic in defending 

 their stores. 



While I am well pleased wth the 

 plain section and fence, I do not agree 

 to all the points claimed in their favor. 

 That bees will store a greater amount 

 of honey in plain sections, or that it 

 will be any whiter, I do not think. 

 Under favorable conditions a strong 

 colony will store a full pound of honey 

 in a 414x41/4x1% old-style section, 

 while a plain section filled between sep- 

 arators, spaced exactly the same, will 

 weigh but fourteen ounces. 



I find less propolis in the supers 

 where plain sections are used, and they 

 are easier cleaned than are those hav- 

 ing insets. A super of plain sections 

 will be filled and completed more uni- 

 formly than old-style sections. Hence 

 there will be a greater number that 

 will grade "fancy." The honey in out- 

 side rows will be more securely at- 

 tached to the section, and, while they 

 all have the appearance of being fuller, 

 they will, as stated above, fall short in 

 weight, a fact not easily accounted for. 



Grand Valley, Pa. 



Clouds and Sunshine. 



BY M. B. GLEASON. 



In their onward progress gliding, 



Come and go sncce.ssive years. 

 Freighted with the joys and sorrows 



That beget our smiles and tears. 



Borne on rapid, tireless pinions. 



Sweep they down through boundless space, 

 Leaving now a belt of sunshine 



And anon a darkened place. 



Light has ever foil of shadow, 

 So does pleasure mate with pain, 



And our joy is twin to sadness, 

 But our loss is linked with gain. 



Life's most patient, helpful lessons 



Are with wise, unerring care. 

 Given through trials that beset us. 



Or in burdens that we bear. 



—Our Rest. 



No farm is complete in its stock de- 

 partment without a few colonies of 

 bees. 



