306 



THE BEE-KEEPERS' REVIEW 



fcrs to have snow on the ground that 

 he may use it to stop up the entrances. 

 He is careful that the man who helps 

 him carry the bees in on a carrier 

 shall keep step with him, and thus 

 not g-ive the bees the least jar. He 

 thinks if the bees were put in with a 

 rush and a bang, waking them from 

 their slumbers and causing them to till 

 their sacs with honey, that he would 

 have "polka dot" hives and bushels of 

 dead bees by mid-winter. While the 

 carr3^ing in of the bees in this careful 

 manner does no harm, I feel just as 

 positive as friend Grow that nothing is 

 gained thereby. The first issue of the 

 Review discussed this ver}- topic of dis- 

 turbance of bees in winter, and the evi- 

 dence was overwhelming that the dis- 

 turbance did no harm. I could fill 

 page after page with accounts of in- 

 stances in which disturbance did no 

 harm. Here is one: I bought four 

 colonies of bees a year ago, and brought 

 them home in a wagon, some IS miles, 

 just before it froze up. They were put 

 into the cellar with no opportunity to 

 fly, and wintered perfectly. "Polka 

 dot" hives and bushels of dead bees 

 come from something more serious 

 than the manner in which the bees are 

 put into the cellar. 



label states that the producer is a 

 member of the National Bee-Keepers' 

 Association, but the Association does 

 not guarantee the honev. 



■^^^ir^rf^rf^rf^ 



National Honey Labels. 



Mr. N. E. France, Manager of the 

 National Association, has gotten out 

 some very neat, colored honey labels, 

 printed in six colors, for use on honey 

 pails or cans. The size for use on the 

 2-lb pail costs only $2.50 per 1.000, in- 

 cluding the printing on of the name 

 and address of the producer. The 3-lb. 

 size is $2.00 a thousand— 2-lb. size, 

 $1.75. Add 25 cts to each order for 

 packing and shipping". No order ac- 

 cepted for less than 500 labels of one 

 size. Prices are 50 cts per thousand 

 less if the space for the name is left 

 blank. Of course, these labels are 

 fnrnished to members onl}', and the 



»K»Ffcr»»*»^^ 



Employ Well the Winter Months. 



A few days ago a bee-keeper in 

 California sent me samples of queen 

 excluding- perforated zinc that he had 

 made with a die or punch of his own 

 construction. Of course, he could not 

 perforate the metal so rapidly as it can 

 be done with the big machines run by 

 power in the factories, but, in the 

 leisure of winter, it is much more prof- 

 itable for him to perforate his own zinc 

 than to buy it — unless he has some 

 other work at which he can earn good 

 wages. This reminds me that bee- 

 keepers ought to plan to do all work 

 possible during the winter months. 

 Make hives (if they make their own 

 hives) put together sections, put in 

 foundation, etc., and have everything in 

 readiness when the busy season opens 

 I was talking recently with a young- 

 bee-keeper who manages about 60 

 colonies, and he asked me if I thought 

 I could manage three or four out- 

 apiaries of 50 colonies each. I told 

 him I felt sure that I could. He 

 doubted his ability to do so. He is of 

 the slow, methodical, careful, exact 

 kind, and had had foul brood to con- 

 tend with this year, and, with the 

 shaking of about 40 colonies, and then 

 trying to render the wax, and boil the 

 honey, I did not wonder that he felt 60 

 colonies were all he could manage. 

 I told him, that, to manage several 

 apiaries, there must be short cuts and 

 a perfect system, but I felt that he 

 could be capable of accomplishing this 

 feat if he had everything in readiness, 

 and nothing- to do except to look after 

 bees during swarming time. I told 

 him how Mr. Gill and his wife with 

 one helper managed 1,100 colonies, but 

 everj'thing was in perfect readiness at 

 the opening of the season. 



