June 22, 190S 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



439 



^ 



(£onr>cntion 

 Procccbings 



J 



Papers Read at the Minnesota Convention 



Held at Minneapolis Dee. 7 and 8, 1904 



SOHE THINGS 



HAVE LEARNED ABOUT BEE- 

 KEEPING 



My first interest in liees dates back to the early fifties, 

 when as ;i small child I observed an old man hiving new 

 swarms in hives that were up to date at that time. They were 

 boxes 12 or IS inches square and two feet or more high, hung 

 upon flat posts bv cleats nailed to their sides, the posts hav- 

 ing similar cleats for the hives to rest upon, and when the 

 hive was in position the bottom was about IS inches from the 

 ground. The bottom-board slanted enough so that anything 

 dropping down inside the hive was easily carried out by the 

 bees. The bottom-board projected about three inches for an 

 alighting board. Two sticks were fastened crosswise near 

 the center of the hive to help support the comb. Two or 

 three holes were bored through the lop of the hive which were 

 closed with stoppers, the same being removed when supers 

 were placed in the hives for the surplus honey. These supers 

 consisted of square boxes and round ones about the size of one 

 peck measure. When this man thought there was surplus 

 honey to take off he would take a broom straw and remove a 

 stopper inside of the super, run the broom-straw in, and upon 

 drawing it out would look for honey on it, and by the amount 

 of honey on the straw he would judge as to whether it was 

 best to take off surplus honeyl 



It was observing this man handling his bees, and the bits 

 of honey he gave me from time to time, that caused me to try 

 to keep bees later on. 



Upon taking my homestead rights in Renville county, in 

 1877, 1 still had a desire to try to keep bees, but I was told I 

 could not keep them on the prairie, so I did not undertake it 

 until after some years when I found a swarm of bees had 

 taken possession of a martin house on top of the barn. I 

 tried transferring these bees into a box, but they soon died. 



The spring following I bought two colonies and from that 

 time until now I have not been without bees and honey. 

 First I used the Langstroth portico 10-frame hive with wide- 

 frame section-holders in the supers. My bees would swarm 

 before they would work in the supers. 



With these I had better success in obtaining honey in sec- 

 tions; but even with the 8-frame dovetail hive and the latest 

 improved section-holder I found only one or two hives in an 

 apiary of IS or 20 would store much section honey. My oppor- 

 tunity to study and observe the bees was limited, as farm work 

 took my attention, so I learned but slowly from the school of 

 experience. 



Now after fifteen years of keeping bees I have decided 

 upon what I believe to be the best method to adopt, to obtain 

 the best results in getting surplus honey, both extracted and 

 comb. 



On all good, strong colonies I place full extracting supers 

 with full-comb frames, or full foundation frames. If a'v of 

 the colonies got the swarming fever and a large swarm ((jines 

 off I hive it either on full-comb frames or full foundation 

 frames, and place a section super with foundaiion starter 

 in the sections. In this way I find the bees almost always 

 go to work at once, filling the sections. Sometimes I taki- the 

 frames from the extracting supers to hive the bees upon, sub- 

 stituting comb foundation frames for the extracting supers. 



Now it occurs to me after these years of handling Ix-es, 

 since I have taken more time to observe them, that I have 

 hardly begun to learn anything about them. They do things 

 sometimes that are so unexpected that 1 have decided it wnuld 

 take much longer time, were I abh; to do so, to tell wh.it I 

 have yet to learn about bees than what I have learned. 



The past summer, on two occasions, I observed a sv.ann 

 come out of one hive and enter another, the hive of aiiitlicr 

 colony that had just swarmed, and owing to the queen failing 

 to fly, they came back and all entered tha same hivf p> aci'- 

 ably, and each time they swarmed in about 3 days, and I hi- ed 

 them. Hoth swarms seemed to be double ones and ston il a 

 good quantity of surplus comb honey. 



Another surprise for me was when I was shaking a iilmn- 



tree I observed what I first thought to be a hornet's nest, but 

 upon closer examination I found was a swarm of bees. This 

 struck me as very strange, as it was Oct. 1, and I had seen no 

 signs for two months or more of the bees swarming. Upon 

 getting the bees down and shaking them in front of a hive I 

 found they had built a good-sized comb on the limb. 



In conclusion I will say in bolialt of the great State of 

 Minnesota, when one can do as I have done, take many 

 pounds of the finest honey from the cornices of houses, and 

 obtain plums and honey from the same tree, it is a good State 

 to live in. I believe it will be in the lead of all States in all 

 lines of advancement and progress. H. V Pooue. 



Renville Co., Minn. 



BEE-KEEPING FROM A WOMAN'S STANDPOINT 



Anything that tends to outdoor life has always appealed 

 very strongly to me, so when I began, some three or four 

 years ago, to read a series of articles in one of our farm papers 

 on "Bee-Keeping for Women," my Interest in the subject 

 was aroused. 



I had always said that there was one thing that should 

 not come on our place, and that was a hive of bees, but when 

 I read of the wonderful things that a woman could do, and 

 how alone and unaided, even by her husband, she could sup- 

 ply her own table, and that of all her relatives and friends, 

 and still have enough to sell so that her pocket-book would be 

 full and running over at Christmas time, I was a firm believer 

 in the bee as a money-maker. I at once sent for the "ABC 

 of Bee-Culture," also subscribed for "Gleanings" and later on 

 for the American Bee Journal. Every spare moment was 

 spent in reading, until at last I decided I must have a colony 

 of bees. 



One April morning I found, among other birthday pres- 

 ents at my plate an envelope containing some money, where- 

 upon the children exclaimed, "Now mamma will have her 

 bees !" 



A few days more and I had called upon Mr. Acklin, and 

 made my first investment in one colony of Italian bees, veil, 

 smoker, etc. As that was the first time I had ever seen a 

 bee-hive, and stood in mortal fear of the bees themselves, I 

 felt when I started home that I had thrown my money away. 



The next day a telephone message announced the arrival 

 of the bees at the express office, and suggested that I call for 

 them at once. This only increased the "sinky" feeling, but 

 smothering it as best i could I started out although with 

 many misgivings. 



My husband came home with me, and suggested that we 

 stop at prayer-meeting on the way home ! We did so, but a 

 longer hour I never spent. The possibilities of unction not 

 divine in case one of the small boys hanging around outside 

 should take a notion to see the inside of that hive were any- 

 thing but pleasant to contemplate. 



The bees were finally safely landed at home and the num- 

 ber of cakes of honey that were promised to friends from that 

 colony were beyond count. 



Imagine my feelings when fall came and I had nothing to 

 show for the summer's work but an empty super and one 

 swarm — a good, strong one, however, which came out July 18. 



The next spring the fever ran higher than ever, and when 

 a man drove in one day and offered me three colonies of bees 

 for a pair of fine geese, the trade was quickly made. 



I was now fairly started in the business, and in a position 

 to put to the test the theoretical knowledge I had absorbed 

 during my year's reading. 



Right here let me say to those who sneer at " book farm- 

 ing," that in my case at least theory and practice have fitted 

 together very nicely. In addition to reading everything I 

 could find on the subject, I have driven miles to talk with 

 other bee-keepers. I have always found them willing and 

 glad to aid a beginner, and many thanks are due them all, tor 

 much timely advice and help. 



Every year since then I have added to my small begin- 

 ning, both by natural increase and purchase, until I now have 

 about 35 colonies, and the yield last season, of both comb and 

 extracted honey, far exceeded my expectations. 



Living on one of the principal thoroughfares out of Min- 

 neapolis, there is a constant dcin ;ud for honey by people who 

 see the hives in the yard, and 1 have no trouble iu selling my 

 crop at a good price. 



A few months ago the que- timi was asked in the Rural 

 New Yorker, how a young w>jin;ui of 20 could stay on the 

 farm to assist her mother, ami at, the same time earn a little 

 pin-money for herself. A large ivimber of answers were sent 

 in, adviiing her to try everythin^■ from sewing to small fruit, 

 poultry-raising being the favoriti . but not one mentioned bee- 



