262 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



April 6, 1905. 



brood in the middle of it as large as my band, or say about 25 square 

 iDches, then all is well. 



So you see, Dr. Miller, that even though brood-rearing may have 

 ceased in the yard in the reguar colonies, that it must not have ceased 

 in the little hive in the window, and it was this fact that led me to 

 write what I did on page 126. I naturally did not stop to think that 

 the " late summer " carried a different meaning to others than it did 

 to myself. 



Bees here have wintered excellently, and the spring seems to be 

 opening up earlier than it did last year. Almost every day I see bees 

 out after water. Allen Latham. 



New London Co., Conn., March 13. 



Some Notes and Comments— Bee-Hives 



BY F. GREINER. 



SOME bee-hives are so constructed that it seems neces- 

 sary to give them frequent " goings-over " — removing 

 propolis, burr-combs, and the like, in order that the 

 combs may be handled easily. I have kept bees in frame 

 hives for 30 years, and have not found it necessary to clean 

 any of the frames or hives when there were bees in them. I 

 use hives with wood rabbet and frames made of one-inch- 

 ■wide material. There is not a frame in my 200 occupied 

 hives but can be taken out with comparative ease, and 

 nearly all my frames are of the loose-hanging kind. When 

 for some reason a hive-body is empty — as it often happens 

 when we " shake " bees — why, then, if it seems necessary, 

 we scrape the inside and the rabbets, but it is not generally 

 necessary. 



On the tops of my frames some burr-combs accumulate ; 

 these are sometimes removed with a simple little tool which 

 answers nicely as a hive-opener. It is made on the putty- 

 knife order, only much stouter. I made it from a piece of a 

 broken spring. One end is drawn out to not quite knife- 

 edge and is about 1% inches wide ; the other is left the size 

 of the steel, about l}i inches wide, and has the corners 

 nicely rounded. It suits me very much better than the 

 screw-driver I have been using for many years. I made me 

 a number of these tools and keep one in each yard. They 

 are very handy. 



SECTION-PRESS FOR FOLDING SECTIONS. 



When it is proposed to employ a machine to do certain 

 work the questions come up : Is the work done more effec- 

 tively, better, quicker, with less expense 7 What does the 

 machine cost ? These questions came to me when I was 

 reading Mr. A. F. Foote's illustrated article on a section- 

 press. I don't see that this press facilitates the work. I 

 am able to fold as many sections without it, simply using 

 my fingers to do the work. I fold the sections into a square 

 corner improvised by a piece of scantling securely fastened 

 to the work-bench. The thumbs do the pressing. The tap 

 of a light hammer is very seldom required, and only when 

 a section for some reason fails to go together as it should. 

 Before I invest in a machine I must be satisfied that I can 

 save something by using it. 



Mr. Editor, you said before the bee-keepers in St. Louis 

 that honey ought to bring SO percent more than it does now. 

 I want to ask what sympathies you have for the consuming 

 public ? If you were a day laborer, do you think you could 

 afford to eat honey at an advance of 50 percent over the 

 present prices 7 Don't you think we would sell a great deal 

 more honey if it could be sold lower by 20 percent 7 My 

 clover honey brought me, f. o. b. my station, 14 cents. I 

 judge that the consumer had to pay not less than 20 cents 

 per pound. What working man can afford to pay 50 per 

 cent more, or 30 cents per pound 7 No, no, the price of 

 honey at 20 cents is high enough compared with 6cent 

 sugar.— [We meant to say that in a wholesale way prices 

 should be higher. — Editor. Q 



RENTING LAND FOR AN APIARY. 



How much should be paid for the privilege of keeping 

 an apiary on some one else's land depends largely upon cir- 

 cumstances. The bee-keeper can afford to pay generously 

 for such a privilege. While the occupancy by bees of a 

 farm costs the owner of same nothing, and is many a time 

 a direct benefit to him, yet we must not lose sight of the 

 fact that the people living on the farm may be, and often 

 are, inconvenienced by the bees. I find but very few people 

 who are willing to consent to my locating bees on their 

 premises. I could not hire them for a $5 bill to accept one 

 little bee-sting free. 



There is nothing to hinder every farmer keeping bees 

 and producing honey enough for his own family. There is 



nothing to hinder his knowing how to manage bees suc- 

 cessfully ; but when he does not know enough to do so, and 

 has no inclination to learn it, he would better keep his 

 hands off. 



ADVANTAGES of NO-BEE-WAY SECTIONS. 



The only advantage I realize from the use of no-bee- 

 way sections is that I save in shipping-cases and timber to 

 make the sections from. Six shipping-cases take the same 

 amount of honey in no-bee-way sections as seven cases in 

 bee-way sections. The no-bee-way sections cost 25 cents 

 less per 1000. 



DRIP-STICKS FOR NO-DRIP CASES. 



Drip-sticks for shipping-cases should be made thicker 

 than they are. It does not happen often, but sometimes 

 honey leaks badly on account of a crack across the flakes. 

 A good amount of room under the sections would prevent 

 the sections from becoming daubed. I have received empty 

 cases back from the grocery which were perfectly dry and 

 clean, and could be used again without replacing the paper 

 trays. Then, again, I have seen honey very badly daubed 

 because the drip-sticks were too thin. 



To help out Dr. Miller, on page 39 — What would bees do 

 on only drone-comb — I would say that if a new swarm is 

 hived on drone-comb foundation only, they (the bees) will 

 make bad work with it. There will be all sorts of cell- 

 shapes. The aim of the bees seems to be to build worker- 

 comb. But when finished drone-combs are given, the bees 

 will occupy them as other combs, and make the best of it, 

 rearing worker-brood in the drone-comb. The reared 

 workers will be no larger than those reared in worker-cells. 



Ontario Co., N. Y. 



=^ ^ 



(£oni^cntton 

 Proceebings 



rJ 



Report of the Michigan State Couveation 



BY E. B. TYRRELL. SEC. 



The 40th annual meeting of the Michigan State Bee- 

 Keepers' Association was held at Grand Rapids Feb. 23 and 

 24, 1905. It was called to order at 2 p.m. by Pres. W. Z. 

 Hutchinson. The minutes of the previous convention were 

 read and approved. 



Pres. Hutchinson asked how many believed the booklets 

 issued last year helped them to dispose of their honey. 

 Several reported sales made by the pamphlet, one member 

 saying it sold all of his honey for him. It was thought 

 beneficial in giving consumers confidence in the honey. 



The Secretary then gave a financial report for the year, 

 showing total receipts of $43.21, and a total expenditure of 

 $39.80, leaving a balance on hand of $3.41. The report was 

 approved by the convention. A vote of thanks was then 

 tendered the Secretary for his reports. 



It was decided that last year's motion in regard to 

 issuing the honey pamphlets be continued. 



On motion, George W. York was requested to act as 

 judge on the honey exhibited at this convention. 



UNITING WEAK COLONIES IN THE SPRING. 



" Has any one tried putting weak colonies above strong 

 ones in the spring, putting a queen-excluder between the 

 hives?" 



J. A. Pearce tried putting 16 weak colonies above 16 

 strong ones in the manner stated, leaving them about three 

 weeks, with good results. He is well pleased with the plan. 

 They were separated at the beginning of the honey harvest. 

 He did not lose any queens by this method. 



H. F. Strang tried this plan by putting 18 weak ones 

 over 18 strong ones, with good results. The lower colonies 

 were very strong when put together, and the upper ones 

 very weak. He left them together about 22 days. They 

 should not be left over 25 days. He looked at them every 5 

 or 6 days, and found them acting as 2 colonies all the time. 

 He raised the front end of the hive and poured in '/i pint of 

 feed (half honey and half water) each day. Each colony 

 was put back on its own stand, and seemed to stay all right. 

 He would unite them the last of April or first of May. No 

 entrance was given to the upper story, so all used the same 



