646 



THU MMERICSrf BME J©UM]!fffiI*. 



Xlie mistaken Uee. 



A viigrant bee came buzzing round, 

 And Chioe, frightened at the sound. 

 Cried, "Mary, lielp ! Go, Lizzie, fetch 

 A broom and kill the little wretch. 



Too late ! despite the bustlinff maids, 

 The wanton imp at once invades 

 Poor Chloe's lip.s— the saucy thing ! 

 And Axes there its ugly sting. 



The culprit caught, the maids prepare 

 To kill the monster then and there ; 

 When iremhliug for its life, the bee 

 Makes this e.xteuuatiug plea : 



" Forgive ! O beauteous queen, forgive 

 My sad mistake : for, as 1 live. 

 Your mouth (I'm sorry, goodness knows), 

 I surely took it for a rose I" 



" Poor insect !" Chloe sighed ; " I vow 

 'Twere very hard to kill him now — 

 No harm the little fellow meant ; 

 And. then, he seems so penitent ; 

 Besides, the pain was very small — 

 I scarcely feel it now at all !" 



—John Q. Saxc. 



% 



Using; Old Sections and Combs in 

 the Fall. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 659.— I have a lot of old sections, 

 mostly filled with comb from previous years. 

 They are dark, somewhat propolized, and the 

 Bections are considerably soiled. I did not 

 like to use them for our nice white honey. 

 Would it not be a good Idea to use these for 

 the fall crop, as it usually sells cheap, any- 

 way ?— Bee-Keeper. 



Yes. — C. C. MiLLEB. 



Yes. — R. L. Taylor. 



Yes. — Mrs. L. Harrison. 



I think that it would. — A. J. Cook. 



It would be poor economy. —P. L. 



VlALLOJf. 



Yes, they are good for fall honey. — 



G. M. DOOLITTLE. 



No. Fall honey sells quite well 

 when put up clean. — Dadant & Son. 



Yes, if you wish ; but you would 

 have to sell it at a discount. — J. M. 

 Hambaugh. 



Cut the combs out, melt them into 

 wax, and use the sections for kindling- 

 wood. — Eugene Seoor. 



No ; unless you are willing to use it 

 at home. They might be filled with 

 fall honey to be extracted. — M. Mahin. 



Yes, if you can sell the hone}'. My 

 way woukl be to use the comb for wax, 

 and clean the sections up nicely for a 

 new crop. — J. E. Pond. 



Such .sections are not fit to store any 

 kind of honey in. Melt up the old 

 comb, and use the sections for kindling 

 tires. — C. H. Dibbern. 



Your sections would be better fitted 

 to the fall crop than the early white 

 crop, but whether it would be best to 

 use them for that or not, depends upon 



how bad they are. What one calls 

 soiled and dirty, another would not 

 describe by that name. I rather think 

 that it would be better to burn up the 

 sections and melt up the combs. I 

 have done that once or twice, and we 

 have a dark fall crop here, too. — 

 James Heddon. 



You can use them as j'ou suggest ; 

 but I would first clean off all the pro- 

 polis ; and, with a sharp knife, shave 

 off the outer edge of the cells. — J. P. 

 H. Brown. 



Such combs, if used at any time, 

 should be shaved down until the cells 

 are not more than a half of an inch 

 deep ; otherwise the honey will be in- 

 ferior. It does not pay me to use any 

 but nice, clean combs, for comb honey. 

 — G. W. Demaree. 



It would be best to cut out all the 

 comb, melt it into wax, and clean up 

 the sections. Put your honey in neat 

 and clean sections, and it will not sell 

 so cheap — H. D. Cutting. 



Melt the combs in all old, dirty, 

 soiled sections, and kindle the fire 

 with the wood. This is the best pos- 

 sible use that I kuow. Do not regret 

 tlie losses of the past, but press on to 

 the future and take care of it. — J. M. 

 Shuck. 



Yes ; use the old partly-filled sections 

 for the fall crop ; then sell it for two 

 cents less per pound than the white 

 clover honey sells for, and see how 

 many of your customers will prefer the 

 dark honey. — Maiiala B. Chaddock. 



New honey, whether of the early or 

 late crop, does not sell to advantage in 

 old com I IS. The bee-keeper is sure to 

 lose credit by using such combs. Sec- 

 tions containing nice, white comb can 

 be wrapped in stout paper, and be 

 kept so clean that they can be used 

 another season to advantage. But 

 dark, dusty combs should be melted 

 up. — G. L. Tinker. 



The usual answer to such a query is, 

 "Throw them all out-doors, and pro- 

 cure brand-new ones ; as your reputa- 

 tion is of far more value than that of 

 the sections." However, I believe the 

 "danger" in this direction is very 

 highly magnified ! In fact, too much 

 so ! There are many ways in which 

 these sections can be used (without 

 losing your reputation), thereb}' utiliz- 

 ing sections, and saving the cost of 

 new ones. Your near neighbors, with 

 a little explanation, would just as soon 

 liave these as any others. Of course, 

 they should not be sent to a city mar- 

 ket. You can also, if anything like 

 myself, dispose of a great many on the 

 home table. — Will M. Barnum. 



No. Such sections are unfit for 

 comb lioney, which is a fancy article, 

 and should be put up in first-class con- 

 dition — even if it is fall honey. To 



melt up the combs and use the section.* 

 for kindling-wood would be economy. 

 To scrape the sections and fuss with 

 them would be worth more than new 

 ones would cost, if j'our time is worth 

 anything. — The Editor. 



How Liong will Bees Liive in the 

 mails i 



Written for the American Bee Journal 



Query 660.— For how long a time is it sup- 

 posed that a queen and accompanying bees 

 can bear the conflnement of shipping by 

 mail ?— Michigan. 



Ten d.ays or two weeks. They are 

 now sent across the ocean in the mails. 

 — Mahala B. Chaddock. 



For about 15 to 20 days, depending 

 much upon how fine the sugar used is 

 powdered. — G. L. Tinker. 



They have been sliipped from Europe 

 by mail. I do not know how much 

 more they would stand. — C. C. Miller. 

 Probably four weeks, if favorable 

 conditions are present : may be longer. 

 I do not know. — Eugene Secor. 



I do not know, but I have known 

 them to stand 9 or 10 days in August 

 weather. They should be well venti- 

 lated, and have ample room. — J. E. 

 Pond. 



For an indefinite time. Probably as 

 long as the food and warm weather 

 would last. — C. H. Dibbern. 



That depends wholly upon the pack- 

 ing and the quality and quantity of 

 food. I do ncjt know the outside 

 limit. — M. Mahin. 



Twenty days, without danger of 

 loss ; 40 days or even longer, in cases 

 specially prepared. — J. M. Shuck. 



Probably until they starve to death. 

 It is difficult to answer such a question 

 as this, as a correct answer depends 

 upon so many things. In common 

 cases, perhaps three weeks. — Will M. 

 Barnum. 



I am not certain, for a great deal 

 depends upon the weather, provisions, 

 treatment, etc. I will venture an an- 

 swer — from 2 to 3 weeks, should they 

 be properly provisioned, and the 

 weather remains propitious. — J. M. 

 Hambaugh. 



It depends upon many circumstances. 

 I have had them to die in transit in 2 

 or 3 days, and again perfectly alive 

 after 20 dajs. I have received queen- 

 from Mr. Benton, mailed in Germany, 

 which were 19 to 21 days on the way, 

 and all came lively. — P. L. Viallon. 



When put up right, they can stand 

 confinement 20 days, as I know by ex- 

 perience, and how much longer I do 

 not pretend to say. A few days ago I 

 liberated a queen and some bees that 

 had been confined in a cage provi- 



