618 



T'Hl^ MMERICMEf mmM J@'^KKMI*. 



In connection he uses a wooden thumb- 

 screw to reduce propolis accumula- 

 tions. Mr. Timicliff was very enthusi- 

 astic over this arrangement. He de- 

 clared it the best frame extant. As to 

 the thumb-screw, he owed Mr. Heddon 

 nothing for it, for he borrowed it of 

 Mr. Manum, who had used it for many 

 years before Mr. Heddon. He did not 

 consider Mr. H. the first one to use 

 closed-end frames in a tight-fitting 

 box, for he had used them both in com- 

 bination since 1878. 



He had 400 colonies on these frames; 

 and to show me how nicely they 

 worked he handled several hives. They 

 certainly did work nicely, and as Mr. 

 T. said, he adopted them to save time 

 in handling. The swinging frame 

 took too much time in spacing and too 

 much time all around. He was very 

 enthusiastic over his hive. 



BEE-ESCAPES. 



AnotlierBIetliod of Getting Bees 

 Our of Section-Cases. 



Written for f)ie American Bee Journal 



BY ROBERT CARVER. 



over it, so that the bees cannot get 

 out.) 



Now jar the hive by raising either 

 end say one-half inch, and dropping it 

 down on the pieces that lie under the 

 hive, in quick succession for nearly 

 half a minute ; then raise one end of 

 the case so that it will stand perpen- 

 dicular, and quickly brush the bees 

 from the bottom of the case with the 

 bee-brush into the hive. Put the case 

 on the ground, or on a board, end up- 

 ward, take up the hive and empty the 

 bees close to the entrance of the hive, 

 so that they can go in. Place the 

 empty hive back on the pieces, put the 

 case over it, and jar as before, empty- 

 ing the hive each time, repeating this 

 five or six times when the case is empty 

 of bees and ready to go to the honey- 

 house. 



I can empty a case of bees in less 

 than five minutes by this process. My 

 wife usually holds the smoker, and 

 throws a little smoke around the case 

 as I work, to keep the robbers away, 

 and quiet any bees that might feel 

 cross, and so the bees escape out of 

 the case into the hive. 



Manton, Mich. 



In nearly all branches of business, 

 men profit by the experience of others, 

 and I must say that bee-keeping is 

 not an exception to the rule. Having 

 been a reader of the American Bee 

 Journal, I have many times been 

 benefited by the timely suggestions of 

 those who have been longer in the 

 business than myself, and as even ex- 

 change is no robbery, why should not 

 I contribute also for the benefit of 

 others ? 



Now to the question : How to remove 

 bees from the section-case without 

 smoking them out, or otherwise abus- 

 ing the bees, and do it quickly. Here 

 it is : 



Place an empty hive with the cover 

 off, in front of the one where you wish 

 to remove the section-case, place it 

 about 3 or 4 feet away, and a little to 

 one side from the entrance, so the 

 bees from the field can enter without 

 being disturbed. Now place a straight 

 piece of wood about 2 inches square 

 and 2 feet long, on the ground under 

 each end of the hive, and (place the 

 cover over the hive to keep out rob- 

 bers) should there be any comb built 

 on the bottom of the case, it should be 

 taken ott'. (I use a long, wide chisel 

 for this purpose). Use a very little 

 smoke from the "Large Bingham 

 smoker" just to quiet the bees as we 

 work. 



Now place the case over the empty 

 hive, so that it fits nicely. (The en- 

 trance to the empty hive should be 

 previously closed by nailing a piece 



BEE-KEEPING. 



A 'Woman's Opinion of Learning 

 the Bee-Business. 



Writteii for the Farmers' Rcvleiv 



BY MRS. L. C. AXTELL. 



Many tons of honey go to waste 

 every year because of no bees to 

 gather it. As a rule, bees do not fly 

 more than a distance of three miles 

 around the hive. Within that radius 

 200 colonies may be successfully kept, 

 if the land produces the right kind of 

 flowers. White clover is the foremost 

 honey-plant in the United States and 

 Canada ; but there are many other 

 plants that yield a bountiful supply. 

 Some years those 200 colonies will 

 gather 15,000 pounds of honey — some 

 years more, but often less ; then what 

 enormous amounts of honey must go 

 to waste throughout the world. 



I have seen it estimated that of two 

 fields of clover of equal size, side by 

 side, one of which you pasture with 

 bees, the other with cows, that the one 

 pastured with bees will produce a 

 greater weight of honey than the field 

 pastured by cows will have butter and 

 cheese, and the cows will have eaten 

 every blade of clover that is in the 

 field, while the bees onlj' fertilize the 

 clover and make it more productive. 



As last year was a good year for 

 bees, many were doubtless induced to 

 trj' bees, a few for their own honey, 

 and others with intentions of going 



into it as a business. But unless they 

 are willing to inform themselves how 

 to take care of bees properly, they had 

 better let them alone, as the money 

 paid out for the bees would pay them 

 better if invested in honey. Yet one 

 need not spend a great deal of time in 

 reading ; if only he will get a standard 

 book on the subject, and follow its 

 instructions closelj-, he will be pretty 

 sure to succeed, provided he does not 

 live too far out upon the praii'ies. I am 

 not quite sure that the bee-business 

 could be verj' suecessfull}' carried on 

 where farm crops make a failure, and 

 where white clover has not grown. 



One colony is enough to begin with ; 

 then in all my operations I would con- 

 sult the book ; I would at least learn 

 that one book " by heart," as it were, 

 and as my colonies increased, and 

 perseverance held out, I would sub- 

 scribe for a bee-paper, and add other 

 books. 



I would not advise going into the 

 business very steep the first year, in 

 order that you might try yourself a 

 year or two to see if you have stick-to- 

 it-ive-ness enough to succeed, as I 

 know of no occupation that has had so 

 many " backsliders " as the bee-busi- 

 ness. If one already has his hands 

 full of business, better let bees alone. 

 I have noticed this in my experience, 

 that a man succeeds better if his wife 

 is also interested, and helps him. Of 

 course he ought to be able to manage 

 one colony alone, but as his colonies 

 increase it is quite important that the 

 wife stands readj' to help, if need be. 



It has always seemed to me that bee- 

 keeping was really woman's work. 

 Much of it is not heavy work, and just 

 suited to the weaker sex ; though, when 

 run on the large scale of hundreds of 

 colonies, it may become heavy work, 

 unless plenty of helpers are employed. 

 Indeed, we can make hard work of 

 anything. Much depends upon whether 

 we like the business or not, whether it 

 is hard work for us or not. Had 1 ray 

 choice to take sole care of 100 colonies 

 of bees, or do the housework for a 

 family of eight or ten persons, I would 

 unhesitatingly choose the bee-work. 

 Of course, I could not lift all the honey 

 (the hives need no lifting) ; neither 

 could I get my own wood or coal to 

 cook with, or lift the sack of flour or 

 heavy furniture, or carpets in house- 

 cleaning. 



Some claim that it is hot work car- 

 ing for swarms in the hot sun. We 

 should have suitable shade to work 

 under, and keep all the queens' wings 

 clipped, but the heat of the sun is not 

 so hard to be borne as the heat of a 

 stove in cooking or washing ; and 

 above all, it will not do to take every- 

 body's advice, as almost every old 

 farmer who has succeeded in keeping 



