812 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Nov. 23 1905 



cross-pieces, nor anything. The super was 

 filled with shallow extracting frames. The 

 bees built to the bottom of the super-frames 

 crosswise, and all other ways. They had 

 plenty of room below without the super, and 

 have it full ; it is honey— SO pounds or more. 

 If I should, next spring, after they get to 

 going good, take the lid oft the super, turn it 

 upside down with a super on another hive, 

 would it interfere with the queen laying in 

 the upper hive, comb upside down* X mean 

 to put excluders between the super and hive, 

 and have another colony below. My idea is 

 to have the top bees carry in honey in the top, 

 the lower ones carry in honey through below 

 till they put the top queen out of business. I 

 would keep a trap at the top entrance to 

 catch her when she comes out, so she won"t 

 take any bees off. I want that hive filled with 

 honey before I out into it. It is an experi- 

 ment. 



5. To whom can I send a sample of honey 

 to find out if it is honey. I bought 60 pounds 

 of extracted at 7K cents a pound. It has a 

 funny flavor— something like some kinds of 

 cough syrup, and pretty poor stuff at that. A 

 half-witted fellow came and wanted a lick of 

 honey. I gave him a teaspoon and told him 

 to help himself to the can. He dug out a 

 teaspoonful and said, "That's fine." He 

 lapped it in his mouth and said, " Ah— m, 

 what's been in that can?" Would it cost me 

 anything to have it tested by some one, more 

 than the sending of the sample? If so, how 

 much? I wish to know for curiosity's sake. 



Illinois. 



Answers.— 1. Of course I can not say posi- 

 tively as to the character of your cave, but 

 from your description it would seem to be a 

 good place to winter bees, provided cellaring 

 is your best plan, it I am not mistaken, how- 

 ever, you are in a latitude of 40 degrees, and 

 as far south as that most bee-keepers prefer 

 to winter their bees outdoors. It is probable 

 that diarrhea was the trouble with the colony 

 that died. 



2. That will probably work all right. 

 Leaves well packed are excellent, and it may 

 be better not to have so much packing in 

 front. Indeed, it is possible that none at all 

 In front will be better. Then when a warm 

 day comes the sun can get in its work on the 

 front of the hive and start the bees to flying 

 sooner than if packing were in the way. 



3. For wintering in a cave, if there is abun- 

 dant ventilation below there is no need to do 

 anything but leave the corners sealed just as 

 they were on the summer stands. But in a 

 cave or cellar the entrance should be much 

 larger than outdoors. Mine are 12x3 inches. 



i. A queen will lay all right in comb 

 turned upside down. 



5. You can send it to Wm. A. Selser, 10 

 Vine St., Philadelphia, Pa. You might write 

 him first and find out the expense, if any. 



Reports anb 

 (Experiences 



^ 



Barbed Wire for Bee-Fencing 



I notice in the American Bee Journal, Nov. 

 2, barbed wire is mentioned as a fence to en- 

 close bee-yards, and it is claimed that it is 

 beneficial, as it does not retard the bees in 

 flight, and permits stock to keep the grass 

 eaten down in front of the hives. Further- 

 more, it is asked if any one could give any 

 light on the subject. 



I will give you my experience of 5 years 

 with this arrangement. I have a number of 

 hives stationed in my yard next to the pas- 

 ture fence, some 18 inches from the fence. 

 The fence is a 3-wire one, and the bees fly un- 

 der the bottom wire and are not retarded at 

 all by the wire. The stock keeps all the grass 

 eaten down in front of the hives perfectly, yet 

 some varieties of weeds grow luxuriantly in 

 front of the hives. This grass-mowing by the 

 stock is all right, and always will be a success 

 just so long as the pasture is overstocked, 

 and the stock needs that over the fence for 

 food, otherwise that on the outside will be 



sparingly used. It is a success with me since 

 my pasture is overstocked. 



The disadvantage with me is that the stock 

 very often knocks off hive-covers, and occa- 

 sionally turns over a hive. This trouble can 

 be overcome largely by placing the hives a lit- 

 tle further from the fence, if not entirely ob- 

 literated. 



Taking it as a whole, this arrangement is an 

 excellent one. To get the full benefit of this 

 kind of fencing it would be necessary to fence 

 the bees in a pasture, and have the hives in 

 two long rows next to the fence, and leave a 

 walk between the hives. It would be neces- 

 sary to overstock the pasture where the bees 

 were in order to get the stock to cultivate the 

 bees. T. P. Robinson. 



Bartlett, Tex., Nov. 9. 



Imppovements in Wax-Rendering 



I notice what Mr Arthur C. Miller says on 

 page 776 about the wax-press, and I think he 

 has hit the nail squarely on the head. Any 

 contrivance that shall cut, and, perhaps grind 

 into small particles, the comb and slumgum, 

 thus allowing the hot witer to come into close 

 contact with the wax, thereby liberating it, 

 and enabling it by its less specific gravity to 

 rise to the surface of the water, would, it 

 seems to me, come nearer to perfection than 

 any other wax-press that I've known any 

 thing of. 



Will not some inventive genius try his hand 

 at getting up something of the kind, and be 

 among those who make two blades of grass 

 grow where formerly but one grew? I am 

 too old, or I'd try it myself. 



Lake Geneva, Wis. Wm. M. Whitney. 



No Honey-Fiow Tliis Year 



Bees have scarcely stored enough honey 

 this year to last them until next season. 

 There was no flow this year. 



Rot a, Boutwell. 



Blencoe, Iowa, Nov. 4, 



Honey Crop a Failure 



The honey crop was a failure this year in 

 this part of the State. I have 9 colonies of 

 bees, and got no honey the past season. 



Joel Dauqhtret. 



South Greenfield, Mo., Nov. 6. 



A Discouraging Report 



The honey season here has been almost 

 worse than a total failure, and very poor last 

 year, having to feed the bees for winter. The 

 prospect is fair to feed some bees this fall for 

 winter. I think, besides, a good many bees 

 in this part of the country starved to death 

 the latter part of summer. I think that bees 

 here generally will go into winter quarters 

 in fair shape, so that I think the prospects 

 are fair for a crop of honey next spring, which 

 will surely be a boon to bee-keepers. 



Beeville, Tex., Nov. 7. W. C. Nutt. 



Report of An Astonishingly Good 

 "Crop" 



Deak Editor : — From time to time I have 

 read in your paper, but not always with that 

 intense interest that perhaps I should have 

 had, the reports from various bee-keepers 

 about their crops for 1905. I note that some 

 reports are good, some fair, and others very 

 bad — the goodness, badness or fairness de- 

 pending upon the amount of honey and the 

 price per pound. 



I want to submit the report of my crop for 

 1905, which so far as I have read excels all 

 others. 



I have 29 colonies, all in good condition, 

 and nearly all in active work under direct 

 observation. I have spent, this season, about 

 half my time in giving the bees the best care, 

 and have used 300 pounds of sugar. I have 

 harvested 9 sections of honey, a lot of odds 

 and ends showing the work of the bees, 29 

 " tons '' of happiness, and 325 stings. 



I have learned much that I never knew be- 

 fore about these wonderful little creatures — 

 and I close the season with the apiary stocked 



full of plane, and myself full of ambition to 

 get more happiness and more stings next 

 year, to say nothing of information. 



Yet there are old fogies who will tell you 

 that it doesn't " pay " to keep bees \ 



Edward F. Bigelow. 



Stamford, Conn. 



[There, Prof. Bigelow has thrown down the 

 gauntlet; is any one ready to take it up? — 

 Editor. I 



CONVENTION NOTICES. 



National Convention, Dec. 19, 20, 21. 



— Another slight postponement of the Na- 

 tional convention seems to be unavoidable. 

 The Fat Stock Show, upon which we have 

 depended for reduced rates on the railroads, 

 has been postponed two weeks. The reason 

 given is " the inability of the builders of the 

 amphitheater to secure structural steel for 

 the same," and they don't wish to hold the 

 show out-of-doors, hence the delay. Of course 

 there will be no excursion rates during the 

 first week in December, and, as it would be 

 suicidal to attempt to hold a convention with- 

 out excursion rates, the Executive Committee 

 has decided to postpone the convention two 

 weeks in order to take advantage of the Fat 

 Stock Show rates. The dates for the conven- 

 tion will now be Dec. 19, 20 and 21, 1905. 



The place of meeting has also been changed 

 to Brunt Hall, in the Bush Temple of 

 Music, corner of North Clark Street and 

 Chicago Avenue (entrance on Clark Street.) 

 This was done because it was feared that the 

 accommodations at the Revere House might 

 prove too limited. The Chicago bee-keepers, 

 with their customary enterprise and liberality, 

 will pay for the use of the Hall. It is only 

 5 minutes walk north from the Revere House, 

 Southeast corner N. Clark and Michigan Sts., 

 which will be headquarters for the members. 

 This new place of meeting is in a new build- 

 ing where everything is modern. There are 

 adjoining committee rooms, toilet rooms, 

 good drinking water, and elevator service 

 both day and night. 



W. Z. Hdtchinsok, Sec. 



The Chicago-Northwestern Bee-Keep- 

 ers' Association will hold a social session at 

 the Revere House, Dec. 19, 1905, at 10 a m. At 

 2 p.m. the same day will be held the regular 

 annual election of officers. Any other busi- 

 ness coming before the meeting will be at- 

 tended to. All who are accustomed to pay- 

 ing their dues to our Association, thereby 

 getting two memberships for the price of one, 

 will please hand the $1 to the secretary, or 

 mail it to him as usual. The time in the 

 evening will be given to the National, as will 

 also the whole of the two following days. 

 Every one isi'cordially invited to be present, 

 both at the short sessions of the Chicago- 

 Northwestern, and at the "-session meeting of 

 the National Association. 



Herman F. Moore, Sec. 



Park Ridge, 111. 



N. B. — Any one paying their dues to the 

 National Association ih'rect, will have to pay 

 another dollar to the Chicago-Northwestern, 

 if it is desired to become a member of the 

 latter organization also. Hand your dues to 

 H. F. Moore, the Secretary. H. F. M. 



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