1903 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



97 



feature of the case was that the owner 

 was no nearer to a position for bet,ter- 

 ing the condition of his little wards 

 than he had been before. He did nof 

 even watch the me,thods of his employee. 

 It may not be amiss to add that the 

 practical bee-man now resides hundreds 

 of miles away. The bees in ,that cham- 

 ber are probably dead or running riot. 

 It is wise for the beginner to use all 

 helps available. Books and bee jour- 

 nals are necessarj-, yet the help of a 

 skilled workman if rightly used, is cer- 

 tainly not to be despised. To depend 

 upon this, however, year after year, is 

 no way to progress; and the one who 

 is unwilling to take his chances on get- 

 ting stung will never make a success 

 of bee-keeping. 



As independence in manipulation is 

 essential, so self-reliance should be cul- 

 tivated in regard to tools. It is very 

 easy to get into the habit of borrowing. 

 A bee veil is a small matter, and some 

 beginners seem' to consider it imneces- 

 sary to own it. Yet they are the very 

 parties who must have it when occa- 

 sion demands work with bees. It is 

 scarcely worth while to invest in a 

 smoker when one can borrow of a 

 neighbor. Maj-be it will be found con- 

 venient to keep it a few days un,til the 

 new queen ordered arrives. Bui jus,t 

 a few days of course won't matter. 

 Does Mr. Borrower ever stop to con- 

 sider that his neighbor's bees may have 

 the swarming fever at the same time? 

 or there may be honey to remove? that 

 the busy season in one colony is apt 

 to be contagious? It is scarcely just 

 to expect the large apiary to furnish 

 implements for any protracted time to 

 run the small one. If the beginner 

 forms the habit of self-reliance he will 

 suceed better, and will be more es- 

 teemed by his fellow workers. 



Northern apiarists find comparatively 

 little w^ork at this season, yet there are 

 some important features which can be 

 much more profitably looked after be- 

 fore the rush of work. There are de- 

 tails which mean besides time when 

 time is money, bringing with them pro- 

 fit or loss, as facilities for work are pro- 

 vided or lacking at the proper season. 



A complete inventory of bee fixtures 

 should be taken and plans made for the 

 supplies needed during the coming 

 year. If veil and gloves are used, they 



should be repaired if necessary, or new 

 ones arranged for. See that the smoker 

 is in good shape. When chopping 

 wood in winter one frequently finds a 

 stick filled with "fox fire," which dried 

 forms fine fuel for the smoker. 



Be sure to have plenty of hives and 

 sections. Such goods shipped by 

 freight cost very little for transporta- 

 tion in quantity; when if the order is 

 delayed until nearly time for use it may 

 be necessarj' to order by express in 

 order to have them reach you at the 

 desired time. There is often, too, a 

 greater demand than supply in ,the sec- 

 tion department, and while the bees 

 c've gathering the white clover or bass- 

 wood honey and storing it in all sorts 

 of undesirable manners, for lack of suit- 

 able receptacles, you receive word from 

 the manufacturer that he is "a month 

 behind on orders and cannot get ma- 

 terial to fill contracts already made." 

 This state if affairs happens every year 

 with many, and still they delay their or- 

 der until time for use. 



Have the hives clean and all ready to 

 set up at a moment's notice. The bees 

 will be apt to be that much more con- 

 tented. If any of the old sections are 

 to be used, clean them well. Put small 

 pieces of foundation in the sections and 

 pack them into supers, all ready for 

 use. Gather the bits of broken and re- 

 fuse comb and melt into wax. 



Good wax is always in demand at a 

 good price. There are so many do- 

 mestic uses for even an inferior grade 

 that it pays to save even the small bits. 

 The seamstress is saved annoyance 

 from knotting by slipping her thread 

 over the wax before using. A small 

 piece of wax tied up in a thin cloth to 

 rub over the flatiron will keep it 

 smooth. Equal parts of beeswax and 

 rosin make r. ni'X finish for waxing 

 floors. These are small matters, yet 

 the orofit lies in a,1:tending to such little 

 things. 



Conneaut Lake, Pa., Jan. 3, 1903. 



Contract the hive to concentrate ani- 

 mal heat where necessary, during 

 April. 



Several of our exchanges still con- 

 tinue to carry advertising of a Texas 

 bee journal which has been dead more 

 than a year. 



