574 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



but, on the contrary, says she is very 

 prolific, but does not have room enough 

 inside of the cluster of bees to deposit 

 the number of eggs she desires, where 

 only one is placed in each cell. 



DRAGGING OUT BEES. 



" What was the matter with my bees ? 

 In May, several of ray colonies dragged 

 out young, live bees, and piled them up 

 in front of the hive. These young bees 

 were apparently just hatched." 



Evidently the questioner's bees were 

 troubled with the larvae of the wax-moth, 

 or what is commonly termed "moth- 

 worms." The larvae of the wax-moth 

 more generally work between the heads 

 of the puptc bees and the cappings of 

 the same, but they not unfrequently 

 work through and about the septum of 

 the combs. In the former case, the 

 bees have little difficulty in removing 

 the worms without injury to their brood; 

 but in the latter case, if the worms are 

 removed, the brood or pupic honey-bees 

 must be destroyed and removed also. 



Very many times have I seen hatching 

 bees, on either side of the comb, strug- 

 gling to get out of their cells, but all in 

 vain, because they were held in place 

 by the webs spun about their abdomens 

 and wings by moth-worms. In such a 

 case as this, the bees remove these help- 

 less young bees and carry them out of 

 the hive as is stated by the querist. 



In times of scarcity and starvation, 

 the brood is. of ten sucked dry, and re- 

 moved from the hive, but in that case 

 none of the brood which is old enough 

 to hatch is molested, except the drone- 

 brood, as such old brood cannot help the 

 bees to exist by sucking the juices out 

 of it. 



Borodino, N. Y. 



Molli-f orins ani Bee-QuUts. 



MRS. JENNIE ATCHLEY. 



The best way to kill moth-worms after 

 we have been so careless as to let them 

 infest empty combs, beeswax, and even 

 sections, is to simply prepare a vessel 

 full of clear spring or well water, large 

 enough for the amount of work you 

 wish to do, and immerse the infested 

 combs long enough to kill all moth-eggs, 

 etc. Then, if the combs get filled with 

 water, place them in the extractor, 

 throw out the water, and hang them out 

 to dry. After this good rinsing, the 

 combs will bo sweet and clean. 



Quilts that bees will not cut much are 

 made of any kind of cheap cloth, and 

 dipped in melted beeswax quickly, as we 

 dip in making foundation. The bees 

 will not cut through it nearly so quick, 

 and the quilts are more like light honey- 

 boards. 



We have another cold spell now — April 

 9. We are behind in our Spring, this 

 time. 



Floyd, Texas. 



Bee-Keepli as an Excteye Business. 



EUGENE 8ECOR. 



There has been a good deal said of 

 late years in favor of specializing. The 

 tendency of the times is in that direc- 

 tion. The manufacture of nearly every 

 article of consumption or use is now 

 carried on by specialists. A great many 

 agricultural, horticultural and garden 

 products are also put upon the market 

 by specialists. 



There is no doubt that both economy 

 and excellence are served by this method 

 in many instances, but with our present 

 knowledge and methods there is a limit 

 to the profitable production of one thing. 

 For instance, wheat after wheat for a 

 long term of years will exhaust the soil 

 and cease to be remunerative, and, agri- 

 culturally speaking, therefore rotation 

 is 3ompulsory. 



With rotation comes a knowledge of 

 how to produce other crops, and hence 

 mixed farming is practiced by the best 

 farmers. 



It depends upon the ocupation and the 

 surroundings whether a person should 

 devote all his time and all his energy to 

 one thing. 



If when he has supplied his home 

 market, he has the facilities and busi- 

 ness ability to push out and supply a 

 larger field with profit, it is all right. 

 Otherwise, not. The further from home 

 his products must go to find a market, 

 the cheaper he must produce it, as a 

 rule. 



The largest profit realized from the 

 sale of honey comes, or should come, 

 from supplying the bee-keeper's own 

 market. If his locality is so well sup- 

 plied with honey-producing plants that 

 the apiarist can profitably keep more 

 colonies than will supply his home trade, 

 it will do for him to reach out a little 

 toward surrounding towns, or to the 

 trade centers ; but until he has solved 

 the problem of producing honey at the 

 minimum price, he will not find such 



