666 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Sept. 21, 1905 



(T 



\= 



TXix. f}asi^s aftcrtl^oucjl^ts 



The " Old Reliable " seen through New and Unreliable Glasset,, 

 By E. E. Hastt, Sta. B. Rural, Toledo, Ohio. 



J 



The Honet-Eatebs' League. 



Yes, " Illinois," hurrah for the Honey- 

 Eaters' League to keep the Honey-Producers' 

 League straight, and to see to it that honey, 

 genuine but poor, is duly fed out to the bees, 

 and not eaten by man. Page 537. 



No Harm to Eat Wax in Honey. 



Dr. Bohrer says some good things on page 

 538; but I can't second his advice to fritter 

 away advertising to tell the public that wax 

 is not digestible. Though not digestible it 

 doesn'tdo a bit of harm — and is suitable for 

 the eating even of a risen Christ. Bran is on 

 the borders of indigestibility, and yet most 

 doctors would like us to have it left in our 

 food instead of bolted out. And bran is 

 capable of irritating some delicate stomachs, 

 as wax seems not to be. 



Staokiko Up Sections of Honey fob 

 FnBTHER Ripening. 



So Doolittle, in stacking sections, puts 

 strips between the courses to help the inter- 

 circulation of air. Undoubtedly good— and 

 not so much trouble as it looks to be, after 

 one has onee gotten the strips. With some 

 persons the strips would be spoiled, or half 

 spoiled, when wanted for a second using; but 

 probably those persons would better do some- 

 thing else than keep bees. Page 539. 



Bees Scperseding Qdeens. 



And here's a good idea of C. P. Dadant's: 

 If a queen is very prolific the workers will 

 quickly notice it when she begins to fail, and 

 rear another to supersede her. But if she 

 has been a poor one all her life they may not 

 pay attention when she becomes somewhat 

 poorer. Page 540. 



Color of Hair and a Day's Work. 



Is that strange assertion a fact, Dr. Millerl 

 Can't tell by the color of a man's hair how 

 big a day's work he can do? Say, now. I'm 

 quite sure I could do a bigger day's work be- 

 fore my hair got to be white. Page 543. 



"Honey-Butter." 



So "honey-butter" is what it is, ehl I 

 think that is a very good name for it— if it 

 takes. Likely to make some people think it 

 is a nurture of honey with something else— 

 but I don't know as the error is likely to do 

 any great harm. Page 547. 



Managing a Balled Queen. 



Excepting the folks " born with a silver 

 spoon in the mouth " we mostly don't have a 

 tablespoon at hand to use when we suddenly 

 find a queen in jeopardy in a ball of angry 

 bees. I should rather suggest a couple of 

 chips or section-sides to lift the ball with. 

 And I should say, Don't risk your bare hand. 

 Dumping the ball into water seems to be the 

 standard way. Alas, water is very often not 

 at hand. ThanKs to Dr. Miller for the infor- 

 mation that I'enj careful smoking with cooi 

 smoke does not endanger the queen much 

 more than water does. It's a dire situation, 

 and one must not expect to save her every 

 time by any tactics. Page 549. 



Don't Extract Honey from Combs with 

 Brood. 

 From the Northwestern folks I would have 

 liked to see a little more square-up-and-down 

 condemnation of the abominable practice of 

 extracting honey from combs with brood in 

 them. The general drift was against it— but 

 we don't want to drift against cannibalism 

 and such things if we find them still extant. 

 Page 552. 



Do Bees Move EgqsI 



Evidence of bees carrying eggs from one 

 place to another is of interest (If we could get 

 it), but to find an egg in a queen. cell above 

 an excluder is hardly positive evidence. More 

 likely that a laying worker did it. Laying 

 workers are not to be expected in a super 

 where a queen is laying below, but there 

 iiiighl be an exception. When an egg is being 

 layed in sticks automatically wherever it is 

 touched against the cell. But to make it stick 

 in a new place after it gets dry once — that's a 

 rub that I guess bees never overcome. To 

 move the minute larva after the egg hatches 

 is easier — and the evidence is more plenty 

 that they occasionally do it. Page 555. 



Mailing Laying Queens. 



I would offer this improvement on the 

 preparation of a heavy and long laying queen 

 for journey by mail. First make a nucleus of 

 the frame she is found on, and keep her there 

 for a day or two. Then put the nucleus back 

 where it came from and cage the queen. Keep 

 her 24 hours and then Fend. This will be 

 gradual cessation of laying. It may be that 

 sudden cessation is capable of doing some 

 harm without any jolting. Page .565. 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



Not All the Sections Needed 



When Mr. York was at Marengo, July 4, he 

 thought the whole of the 26,000 sections 

 might be needed; not that all would be filled, 

 for always more sections are put on than are 

 rilled. But the bees balked 2 or 3 weeks later, 

 leaving a big lot of sections that were never 

 put on the hives. Fulitr repurt later. 



Outwitting Snealc-Thlef Boys with 

 Bee-Hives 



Dear Miss Wilson:— I have read so many 

 interesting reports and exp'jriences, and had 

 a number of great helps through the Ameri. 

 can Bee .Journal and you, that it really seems 



as if you and I were acquainted. However, I 

 scarcely think we would recognize each other 

 on the street should we happen to meet, do 

 you? 



This time I am not going to ask any ques- 

 tions, but have had several experiences that I 

 thought possibly you might like to hear. 



We live in the heart of the best residence 

 district of a city of about 105.000 people. We 

 have the largest grounds around, with one ex- 

 ception, and the place has a great deal of fruit 

 of all kinds on it, especially apples. It has 

 baen the conundrum of years to keep boys 

 away from apple-trees in the city. Nearly 

 every one has given up in despair, and let the 

 boys have the apples so save the annoyance 

 and bother of being up at 3 a.m. and keeping 

 an uninterrupted vigil all day, only to gel up 

 the next morning and find some one has har- 



vested your fruit before you arose by the 

 light of the moon. 



We tried keeping a bulldog, and various 

 other ways to save the fruit. But the dog 

 was poisoned, and the other ways proved 

 worthless after a trial. All at once one day 

 my eye came upon an article about bees, in 

 the newspaper, and being always interested 

 in bees Ihrougli being so fond of the honey, I 

 read the article. It was on the habits of b: e?, 

 and other things that to a bee-keeper are so 

 common. But being an uninitiated one at 

 that time the article looked so wonderful that, 

 on thinking it over, the thought occurred to 

 me, Why would not the bees keep away the 

 troublesome boys? That was the beginning, 

 in the late summer of 1903. I sent for " A B C 

 of Bee Culture," and studied all winter, and 

 engaged bees for the spring. 



The result is we have not been bothered 

 at all with boys since one small crowd of 

 boys meddled with the hives by throwing 

 apples at them and were stung. One boy tells 

 all the rest, and they " stay off." I wonder it 

 any one else has ever kept bees for this pur- 

 pose, and if they have been as successful. 



Only yesterday the boys were attempting to 

 steal the ripe peaches from our finest tree. It 

 is loaded with fine fruit, and away from the 

 bees somewhat. I had a couple of empty 

 hives, and we set those empty hives right un- 

 der the peach-tree, with harmless but good 

 results. For our own home, at least, I seem- 

 ingly have solved the extremely hard buy 

 problem to my satisfaction. 



I have a colony under each tree of the 

 choicest fruit, and the common fear and terror 

 of bees makes other people (as well as boys) 

 keep a safe distance away. 



Since keeping bees the last 2 summers, and 

 finding out some of their habits, and the ways 

 to handle them, I often wonder why so many 

 people are so mortally afraid of bees that they 

 can not go into a most pleasant and profitable 

 (after learning the ins and outs) business. 



I am a young business woman, and bees 

 and music are my only recreations. My music 

 I study early in the morning, and my bees 

 every evening when I get home from the 

 office. 



I also had the experience of catching a 

 strange (the first one I ever handled alone) 

 swarm of bees last Eummer They were hang- 

 ing from a limb of an oak-tree about 10 feet 

 from the ground. I have the bees still. All 

 the neighbors (for it is thickly settled around 

 us) were so terrified at the swarm of bees 

 they dared not open the screen door, and sent 

 for the street inspector to remove them. He 

 came and " dared not do it," and went away. 

 For 2 days this swarm hung before I found it 

 out. I was out in the garden when a passing 

 teamster told me about the swarm of bees, 

 and seeing the hives asked it they were mine. 

 I told him they were not. 



" You can get that swarm it you know 

 how," he said. 



I told him I did not want to steal even a 

 swarm of bees. 



" You need not be afraid. The whole 

 neighborhood is scared to death, and willing 

 to pay to have them removed." 



So I went over, with the above result. 1 

 found out about the inspector after capturing 

 the bees, and he was greatly relieved, as he 

 " dast not." and could not, or did not care 

 to find any one who "dast." I had lots of 

 fun and an experience tnat don't come often 

 to one who has always lived in a city. 



Last year was a very poor honey-year, and 

 this year worse yet. There were quantities 

 of clover blossoms, but so much rain and such 

 cold weather the bees could not work. I 

 think I will average about 25 pounds of honey 

 per colony, and considering the weather and 

 my inexperience, coupled with having to 

 transfer 3 out of 5 colonies last spring, I have 

 done as well as I could expect for one who 

 makes bee-keeping a secondary occupation. 

 And I have had all kinds of good times among 

 them, and many a good laugh, as people that 

 knew nothing of bees made a remark or 

 asked questions. 



The American Bee Journsl is a paper which 

 is as necessary in bee-keeping as a dishpan to 

 housekeeping. I have been on the point of 

 bothering you feveral times, and I'd say to 

 myself, " I'll wait till the Journal comes, and 

 perhaps I can help myself out," and, sure 



