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I Entered at the Poat-Office at Chicago as Second-Claaa Mail-Matter 

 I'lihliMhed Weekly at 81. OO a Vear by Weorge W. Vork Jk. Co., 334 l>earborn St. 



(IBORQE W. VORK, Editor 



CHICAGO, ILL., OCTOBER 5, 1905 



VoL XLV— Nc. 40 



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€bitortal Hotcs £^L^ (Eomments 



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Carloads of Convention Bee-Keepers 



Had everjlhing been clear sailioK for hold- 

 ing the National coDvention of bee-l<eepers 

 at San Antonio, it was our intention to en- 

 deavor to get together a carload of bee-keep- 

 ers from the Eist and North to join here in 

 Chicago, and go on to San Antonio. Bee- 

 keepers all along the way could have joined 

 the party, just as they did on that memorable 

 trip to Los Angeles two years ago. 



But since it has been definitely decided to 

 hold the convention in Chicago instead of 

 San Antonio, we have wondered it it would 

 not be possible for the bee-keepers of the 

 South to get up a carload of themselves for 

 Chicago. Perhaps bee-keepers around Den- 

 ver, and further west, could also come in a 

 carload. Then likely those in the East could 

 meet in Buffalo and come in a carload from 

 there. 



We do not see why there shouldn't be 

 plenty who could help work up at least the 

 three carloads indicated There are a lot of 

 bee-keepers that will want to come to Chi- 

 cago. And surely the bee-keepers of Chicago 

 and vicinity will be glad to meet »hem. The 

 more the merrier. And Chicago will be big 

 enough to take care of all who come — Dec. 5, 

 ISand 7, 1905. 



Comb Honey by Freight 



Mr. Edwin Bevins, of Decatur Co., Iowa, 

 sends us a letter from a commission house, in 

 which appears this paragraph ; 



' We have your favor in reply lo ours, and 

 note you are shipping us a crate of honey. 

 In the crate you use the glass is exposed, but 

 in the crate illustrated ia our circular the 

 glass fronts are all inside, and most railroads 

 charge from 'Zb to lill percent less freight on 

 shiprneuis packed this way. In some uf your 

 crates that arrived lately the glass fronts 

 ^yere broken, and the honey in one or two sec- 

 tions had oozed out." 



Our advice has always been to pack cases 

 of comb hotiey so that the glass would be ex- 

 posed. We supposed this was what the rail- 

 oad companies wanted, so that their freight 



men could easily see the character of the 

 goods they were handling. 



We would like to have all the honey-dealers 

 who quote the market lor the American Bee 

 Journal write us for publication anything 

 they may have to say on this subject. No 

 doubt such expressions would be of mutual 

 aid to shipper and dealer. 



Fall Contraction of Hive- Entrances 



Gleanings in Bee Culture advises that in 

 the Northern States, except where a late flow 

 of honey is on, the entrances of all colonies 

 should be closed down to not larger than 6 

 inches by }-^ inch deep, as early as the first of 

 September. That seems pretty close quarters, 

 but it may be all right. It correct, a good 

 many will have to do some more contracting. 

 With an entrance only }^ inch deep there is 

 danger of clogging by dead btes. This may 

 be helped by a rim one or two inches deep 

 placed under the hive, the entrance above the 

 rim. 



Don't Feed Thin Syrup Late 



If any colonies are still lacking in stores, 



the sooner they are attended to the better. A 



caution, however, is now needed that was not 



needed years ago. Of late it has become the 



fashion to recommend feeding syrup thin, as 



much water as sugar. The fashion is a good 



One pr"'"'<i«i the feeding is done early. But 



at this time of the year bees should not be 



expected to evaporate a lot of water. 8u to 



each pint or pound of water add 2^:\ pints or 



pounds of sugar. l>ne advantage of early 



feeding is that the i^ees so manipulate the 



thin syrup that it will not granulate in the 



combs, and there is danger that the later ted 



and thicker syrup may granulate. To help 



in this direction, add a fifth of extracted 

 « 

 honey. Lacking this, an even teaspoonful of 



, tartaric acid, previously dissolved in a cup of 



u water, may be added for each 20 pounds of 



'[sugar. At this time of year it is better to 



give the syrup hot. 



Paste for Labeling Tin 



General Manager N. E. France has this to 

 say on this subject; 



To make labels stick to new tin cans, I first 

 wipe the tin with a cloth wet with strong 

 vinegar, then either of the following four 

 kinds of good paste will stick : 



1. Dextrin, 1 ounce; glucose, 1 ounce, well 

 mixed, warm. 



2. Gum arable dissolved in water. 



3. Gum tragacanth soaked 3 days in cold 

 water. 



4. Borax, 1 ounce; gum shellac, 4 ounces; 

 boiling water, 1 quart. 



Another good paste is made by mixing 

 wheat flour in cold water, then boil. 



Reserve Combs for Feeding Bees 



Pretty late to say anything more about it 

 now; but where such a thing is yet possible 

 it is highly advisable to have extra combs of 

 sealed honey. They will come in handy nest 

 spring. 



Outdoor Feeding of Bees 



The editor of Gleanings in Bee Culture, 

 after some "rassling" with the outdoor- 

 feeding problem, made a call tor a "perfect 

 outdoor feeder.'' Now, however, he seem^ 

 to have soUed the problem himself. His plan 

 is certainly ingenious, and well worthy of 

 trial wherever neighboring bees are not suffi- 

 ciently near to divide the spoils. Here is his 

 solution of the problem in detail: 



We have overcome to a great extent the 

 difficulty of wearing out bees experienced 

 with the outdoor feeding. We use 60-pound 

 cans with small holes punched in the top as 

 before. These are nuw filled with syrup of 

 the consistency of two parts of water to one 

 of sugar. The weaker syrup has less of a 

 tendency to make the bees scramble against 

 each other. Then, to mitigaie further the 

 damage to the bees by reason of their strug- 

 gling against each other, the 00-pound cans 

 are elevated some In fret abucr l/ir ijroaud. 

 The wire bail or handle that is in the top is 

 unsoldered. The can is then turned upside 

 down, and the handle is soldered to the bot- 

 tom. The other end of the can is perforated 

 with small holes, as before explained. A 

 rope is passed over a limb of a tree, 12 feet or 

 more above the ground. When the can is 

 filled with the two-to-one syrup, the rope is 

 tied to the bail (now on the bottom ot the 

 can), when the can is hauled up to the 

 height ot about 10 feet. It may take several 

 hours for the bee- to find it; but when they 

 do they will begin in earnest. 



The bees will form in bnnches at the per- 



