586 



TH® Rm.mmi€mm mmm j©WRifsiu. 



gathered honey. I winter my bees on 

 the summer stands. Last winter be- 

 ing mild, it gave several flights tothe 

 bees, and the snow was much be- 

 spattered up every time, but I lost 

 only 2 colonies out of 68, in wintering, 

 which left tiU in the spring, mostly in 

 good condition, and made a fair start 

 for a good season's work, with a great 

 abundance of brood. 



But I discovered that the bees were 

 fast using their stores, and although 

 there was abundance of bloom, the 

 bees seemed to content themselves by 

 staying at home and attending to the 

 wants of their numerous families. 

 There was no swarming until June, 

 and then very cautiously ; seldom any 

 after-swarms, and they were returned, 

 and nearly one-half of the spring count 

 not swarming at all. 



During May and June I gave my 

 bees 500 pounds of honej', of last j'eai-'s 

 product, in frames, and on several 

 occasions I opened the hives, but I 

 could not see one bit of honey in them, 

 and so I began to think of the winter- 

 ing again, and it looked as though I 

 should have to resort to feeding, as 

 some will have to do in these parts, as 

 it looks now. 



But as July came, and basswood 

 opened, and swarming ceased, they 

 began to build up rapidly, and stopped 

 expelling drones, which thej- had in- 

 dulged in more or less all the season. 

 The honey from the basswood was 

 very thin, and the bees filled every 

 available cell in the brood-chambers, 

 so that the queens had to suspend 

 operations until the honey was suffi- 

 ciently evaporated to keep ; it was then 

 removed to sections, but leaving plenty 

 in the brood-chambers for winter 

 stores. This cleared the way again 

 for the rearing of brood, which they 

 are doing bravely, and just now they 

 are zealously storing from buckwheat, 

 which is thick, or heavy, and it is at 

 once put into the sections. 



So the hives are stocked with bass- 

 wood honey for winter, and we will 

 note the result. During the latter part 

 of June, and the first of July, I felt, 

 and said, though I should not get any 

 surplus, that I would not only be satis- 

 fied, but very thankful if the bees 

 stored enough for winter, but better 

 than this, the prospect is that we may 

 get perhaps one-fourth of a crop. 



Waterville, Minn., Aug. 14, 1890. 



Trial Subscribers. — In order to get 

 as many as possible to read the American 

 Bee JoiRNAL, we will take Trial Subscrib- 

 ers from the time the subscription is 

 received until the end of 1890 for 25 cents 

 each. Or for any one sending us $1.00 for 

 1891, we will give the numbers for this 

 year free from the time the subscription is 

 received at this office — so the sooner they 

 subscribe the more they will get for the 

 money. 



BEES' TEMPER 



Hints to Beginners About man- 

 agement of Bees. 



Written for the Iowa Homestead 



BT VV. M. BOMBERGER. 



Pure Italian bees are the gentlest 

 and most tractable. The common 

 black bee generallj' has a bad temper. 

 A cross between the two are often 

 vicious and ugly. All things consid- 

 ered, the pure Italian is the best for 

 the amateur, since the disposition and 

 temper of bees are matters of educa- 

 tion. It is always best to make the 

 first purchase of bees from an expert, 

 who has handled his bees properly, 

 and who is conscientious enough to 

 give the purchasing amateur, bees of 

 an equable temper. Even in large 

 apiaries there are colonies of bees that 

 have bad tempers. 



The first hive should be located in a 

 half shady nook or corner in full view 

 of a constantly used door, and quite 

 near the house. It is surprising how 

 quietly bees will do their work and not 

 molest any one. Their nearness will 

 gradually accustom one to them. They 

 should be fenced, if very small children 

 are on the premises. 



A colony of bees, made vicious by 

 improper methods of handling and in- 

 human treatment is bad, if not worse, 

 than a hornet's nest. Treat bees as 

 you would your best friends. Walk 

 to the hive leisurely with a veil over 

 the face, and a smoker lit and in good 

 trim. Take a location when working 

 over them, so you will not be in the 

 way of bees darting in and out of the 

 hive. With a chisel or hatchet, pry 

 apart, or open such parts of the hive 

 as is necessary in the work, without 

 snapping and jarring parts waxed to- 

 gether. Work with them only on hot, 

 sunshiny days, between 11 and 2 

 o'clock, when the waxed parts of the 

 hive will give without jar or snapping. 



Without discussing the duties of 

 various classes of bees in a hive, it is 

 sufficient to saj' here that when open- 

 ing a hive, a certain quantity of bees 

 at the part opened take it on them- 

 selves to act as defenders, and drop 

 all other duties. They walk about 

 nervously, quiver their wings, and, if 

 given sufficient cause, dart at the oper- 

 ator and make it decidedly interesting 

 for him. 



An expert can manage them with- 

 out smoking, but an amateur should 

 use smoke. Putt' smoke gently in the 

 opening, and, stupefied and scared, 

 the bees will retreat back in the hive 

 and fill themselves with honey, when 

 they become practically harmless ; but 

 if it takes time for the operator to 

 make his manipulations, and other 



bees are disposed to get nervous, give 

 them more smoke. If a few bees 

 (fighters) buzz angrily around your 

 head, walk carefully away from the 

 hive and kill them with a shingle. A 

 few cross bees flying and pestering an 

 operator, can, by their noise and the 

 smell of the venom from attempting to 

 sting clothing, raise the anger of a 

 whole colony or apiary. 



If bees do sting and make a person 

 retreat, it is best not to strike with the 

 arms and hands, but I'un in a direction 

 away from the house, in a straight 

 line, and suddenly make half-circles 

 around trees or brush, making sharp 

 angles in different directions behind 

 them. 



Never work with bees when there is 

 an impending storm in the sky, or 

 during a drouth, or when they are idle 

 and the honey-flow is slack. During 

 the height or the active beginning of 

 breeding, in fruit-bloom, their busiest 

 work on white clove)', linden, buck- 

 wheat aud fall flowers, is the proper 

 time to handle aud work bees. All 

 work, as near as it can possibly be 

 done, should be put ofi" until then. 

 .Such times can be told by the condi- 

 tion of the bloom, and the way tlie 

 bees themselves behave. In the even- 

 ing, at such times, there is a loud and 

 grateful hum that bespeaks on their 

 part satisfaction, contentment and 

 happiness. This hum is the sweetest 

 music to the bee-keeper's ear, and we 

 consider it the rarest pleasure to sit on 

 a hive during twilight, and listen to it. 



Harlan, Iowa. 



FOUL BROOD. 



One Method of Treating tbi» 

 Dreadful Bee-Scourge. 



Written for the Pacific Rural Press 



BY E. H. SCHAEFFLE. 



This disease, which is only equaled 

 by the glanders in the horse, in its 

 fatality, has been the cause of a great 

 deal of controversy among the most 

 celebrated of apiarists. The germ the- 

 ory, which supposes the cause of epi- 

 demics and contagious diseases to be 

 due to the agency of specific small 

 germs, and is backed by Professors 

 Pasteur, Tyndall and others, is gener- 

 ally accepted as the true solution of 

 foul brood. Since these scientific 

 microscopists agree that bacillus is the 

 cause of foul brood, and as the germs 

 or spores exist in every part of the 

 hive, pollen, cells, wax, and all the 

 wood-work of the hive, and Prof. Tyn- 

 dall has proven that2303 F. heat main- 

 tained for a quarter of an hour, failed 

 to kill them, the method most gener- 

 ally adapted for the stamping out of 

 the disease, consists in the entire de- 



