120 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



}^-inch hole bored through the top-bar 

 for the insertion of the tunnel suffices 

 to introduce the food. Should it leak, 

 wax it. I have used such for 5 years. 

 The only objection ever urged against 

 it was that the bees might build comb 

 from beneath the top-bar. So they 

 did once or twice when used very 

 early one spring in the center of the 

 hive. .\ strip of tin 2 inches in width 

 tacked the length of the top -bar, 

 entirely prevents that, and a piece of 

 wood laid upon the sweets within, 

 prevents any bee from drowning. 

 Such a feeder costs perhaps 20 cts. 

 As fall feeding seems to be coming in 

 fashion, and you feel like falling in 

 line, make such a feeder ere buying a 

 more costly one. Twice tilled, it will 

 put almost any colony on winter ra- 

 tions. 



'• Jiloney saved is money earned." 

 AVhv. may I ask again, the need of so 

 much handling of comb honey ? 

 Where is the sharp Yankee who will 

 devise a combined surplus comb-honey 

 rack (or case), and shipping-package V 

 Ah. my fellow bee-keepers, it must 

 come to that I Every time a section 

 of honey is handled, one cent is added 

 to the cost, to say nothing of addi- 

 tional loss through broken combs and 

 leaky honey. 



We must also bring this expense 

 down to the minimum. The bees can 

 fit comb honey to such a case far 

 neater than you, my fellow bee-keep- 

 ers, and with no fear of loose joints 

 and rattling sections enroute. " Sep- 

 arators are an objection," did you 

 say V " Oh, they must go, which they 

 ought to have done," as the boy says, 

 "before they ever started." ror2years 

 I liave used " nary one." What can 

 be more complete than a surplus case 

 quickly removed from a hive, a top 

 and bottom cover of J^-inch stuff 

 screwed on, and the whole shipped to 

 market undisturbed? No, wild theory, 

 in such a proposition either I Have I 

 not put it in practical operation the 

 past summer V True, I took ihe pains 

 to add a neat label (with name and ad- 

 dress), to the top of each section, and 

 to arrange a glass in one side to show 

 the combs to advantage ; but that was 

 scarcely a half hour"s job with cases 

 pi'operly made. 



For comb honey, the 2-story hive 

 must go, too. Mark that I The " tier- 

 ing-up " case system in 5 years more 

 will have swept all before it. My 2- 

 story hives have " laid on the shelf " 

 (save for extracting), for 2 years or 

 more, and my experience fully confirms 

 that of Mr. Ileddon and others, that 

 the top half story, for it is really 

 aught else, is to be the popular system 

 of the futuie. 



Against my opinions on the question 

 of economy, no doubt the supply 

 dealer will mentally rise to expostu- 

 late ; but if he regards true prudence, 

 he will go along witli the current and 

 cater to the forced economies of his 

 customers. The palmy days of "war 

 prices " for honey are gone, never to 

 return ; therefore let all accommodate 

 themselves to present circumstances. 

 lie prepared to sell comb honey at 12 

 and extracted at 7 cts. per lb., when 

 that day arrives. It won't be lower 

 than that, for the people will have it 



as they now have our delicious Mary- 

 land peaches which, placed within 

 their reach, has created such a demand 

 for the fruit, that our fruit-growers 

 have well nigh contracted the " peach 

 planting craze." 



In conclusion, I may add to these 

 mere hints, that there is one thing 

 upon which we can scarce afford to 

 study economy; to-wit. in subscribing 

 for bee-papers. Go for them all it 

 possible, as does the writer. If not 

 possible, select at least two of the 

 most enterprising, and read them care- 

 fully and thoughtfully. Just one idea 

 gained from the Bee Journal during 

 the past year, has been worth the sub- 

 scription price of every paper that I 

 take. Many the gleanings you can 

 thus gather up from the flood of light 

 constantly poured upon our captiva- 

 ting occupation. ^loney spent for such 

 literature is as " bread cast upon the 

 waters." 



Galena, 6 Md. 



For the American Bee JoumaL 



"After Swarms," Are they Profitable? 



For tbe American Bee JoumaL 



A Discontented Bee. 



WM. p. CLARKE. 



A bee WHS heard to sinh: "Alas! 



Life's hiirdly worth the liring. 

 Matters have come to such a pass, 



I'm sick and tired of siving — 

 In to that cruel tyrant, man. 



Who thwarts and robs us all he can. 



"Our combs were once fixed fast as fate. 



With no unsteady motion; 

 Now they are made to agitate 



At each bee-lieeper's notion: 

 Lifted into the sun and air. 



Or whirled in a tin cylinder. 



*' We used to have an easy time, 

 All throuph the pleasant summer; 



While willow, maple, clover, lime. 

 Welcomed e:ich happy comer: 



Now we are driven hard and fast, 

 Long as the honey harvests last. 



" Our store-* of honey and bee-bread 

 Are stolen from our cupboards. 



Cheap sugar fed to us instead— 

 Our brood, like Mother Hubbard's 



LTnlucby dog without a bone. 

 Of natural food have left them ' none.' 



"We're mured in cellars, dumped in pits. 



Or shut in murky houses. 

 Where not a ray of sunlight flits. 



And there are no carouses 

 Such as there use<l to be ol old. 



When a warm day dispelled the cold. 



"Last, but not least, our combs are turned 



Bottoui -side-up. regardless 

 Of that tip-tilting we have learned 



As nature's [lupils artless: 

 Our young must rling fast to their beds 



To keep from fallmg on their heads! 



" It's time a stop were put to these 



Unending innovations. 

 AVith loss fit comfort and of ease. 



I've also lost my patience: 

 If matters do not quickly mend. 



I'll strike, and hoist my latter end ! 



" Beware, beware. O luckless man ! 



And cetiae to play tormentor. 

 Or we will jiunish. as we c»n. 



Each painful nervous center. 

 'Live and let live' must be the law. 



Or we'll quit work and daggers draw." 

 Speedside, Ont,— 



G. W. DEMAREE. 



1^ The Progressive Bee-Keepers' 



i Association of Western Illinois will 



i meet in Bushnell, ills., on Thursday, 



May 7, 1885. Let every bee-keeper 



who can, be present and enjoy the 



meeting. J. G. Norton, iSec. 



i^ The winter meeting of the Bay 

 of Quinte Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will be held at the City Hall, Belle- 

 ville, Ont., Feb. 26, 1885, at 1 p. m. 



Doubtless much depends on locality, 

 honey resources, etc., as to whether 

 " after swarms " can be made profita- 

 ble, even when increase is desirable. 

 In a location like my own, " after- 

 swarms " have always cost me, in the 

 way of foundation, winter stores, etc., 

 as much as they are worth. I think, 

 however, if we want to increase our 

 stock, and are willing to pay for them, 

 we may as well do it in this way. 



I commenced at this place with just 

 one colony of Italian bees, and by al- 

 lowing but one prime swarm, as a 

 general thing, I built up an apiary of 

 50 colonies, and made them pay a profit 

 on the investment all the time. I 

 found out when it was too late to profit 

 by it, that it would have been more 

 profitable for me to have got along 

 slower, by accepting none but first or 

 prime swarms, and preventing all af- 

 ter-swarms. 



When my apiary was built up to 50 

 colonies, I began to see the necessity 

 of suppressing increase, and I began 

 to test all the plans given to the pub- 

 lic by experienced bee-masters. 



One season I "cut out queen-cells " 

 till I was positively sick of the job, 

 and got an unusual lot of inferior 

 queens as the result. Next I tried 

 giving the parent colony a mature 

 queen-cell, after removing the cells 

 which had caused the swarm. Other 

 cells were started immediately, and 

 the after-swarm would come a little in 

 advance of the natural way ; that is 

 all. 



I next commenced to " weaken " 

 the swarming colonies by removing 

 frames of brood from time to time, 

 and supplying their places with 

 frames filled with foundation : This 

 suppressed the swarming fever, and 

 " suppressed " my honey crop also, 

 and I dropped it. Other plans were 

 tried with unsatisfactory results, till 

 along came tlie " Ileddon method of 

 preventing after-swarms." I took to 

 it quite naturally, as a drowning man 

 will catch at straws. After trying it, 

 I found that in my location, it would 

 give about the following results : One 

 colony ill ten will cast a swarm in the 

 usual way, except that the size of the 

 swarm will be diminished. One-fifth 

 of the swarms will swarm again, 

 by reason of tlie relay of bees from 

 the parent hive. One colony in ten 

 will "lay out " and sulk away the best 

 of the honey season, while nearly all 

 of the parent colonies are too nearly 

 exhausted to do any good, in the way 

 of surplus honey. The rest of tbe 

 swarms will " work like a charm." 

 And the work necessary to perform 

 the divers manipulations to carry out 

 the schedule, is anything but "charm- 

 ing." 



The " Ileddon plan " was laid aside 

 (with the rest of the impracticable 

 plans). By this time my apiary ex- 

 ceeded a hundred colonies, and I be- 

 gan to get desperate. When we have 

 as much of a thing as we want, in- 

 crease is a burden. If my judgment 

 is not seriously at fault, not one hon- 



