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THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



April, 



In the winter, two years ago, it 

 was nice and warm, so that the bees 

 reared brood and used up their stores 

 early and required feeding before 

 sage came into bloom; so there was a 

 good deal of sugar fed. One bee- 

 keeper wlho borrowed honey said he 

 would pay when his honey got good 

 as the first extracting would contain 

 more or less molasses, glucose and 

 sugar. He said that he fed plentiful- 

 ly, as, what the bees did not use, 

 would go into honey. 



I did not need to see the inside of 

 "his hives in order to divine a few 

 thngs. By my swarm system the 

 swarms are all put back while his 

 Swarms were hived in new locations. 

 By my plan the colonies are very 

 populous. When I began to extract 

 from combs wfhich were entirely 

 sealed he began to extract from combs 

 which had a sealed patch in the mid- 

 dle the size of two hands. I did not 

 need to see this sealing before the 

 honey harvest started to determine 

 the time that the honey was stored. 

 When I heard that he was beginning 

 to extract I took a spin on my wheel 

 over to his apiary. I saw the ex- 

 tracting being done. I saw the seal- 

 ing the shape of round patches in the 

 ■middle of the combs. That is not the 

 way it is done when honey in the flow- 

 ers is plentiful. Tlhey seal all the 

 way across the comb. Mine was seal- 

 ed clear across. 



He swung considerable elegance 

 unto himself because he was able to 

 begins to "take out" from his little 

 colonies as soon as I from my pop- 

 ulous ones while his number had gone 

 skyward as well. 



My honey is kept on hand the year 

 round. If a consumer wants honey 

 they always know where to get it. If 

 the honey is right they will never buy 

 anywliere else. I never urge them to 



buy more than they call for. I res- 

 pect their judgment. To do other- 

 wise is to treat them as if you con- 

 sidered them foolish. I have not 

 asked a person to buy honey in twen- 

 ly-five years. I show what I have. 

 If they need, they know. 



Where a producer has some maple 

 sugar or sorghum molasses, or ber- 

 ries or other fruit, turnips or a quar- 

 ter of beef it will generally be "spok- 

 en for" or engaged beforehand. Where 

 honey is all sold off close in the fall 

 and early winter, when honey is about 

 to be had the following year there 

 will be sure to be several cans "spok- 

 en for." And they will speak for that 

 that is new. Tlhey have the idea that 

 honey is like strawberries — the largest 

 and finest come first. And it can 

 never be gotten too early to suit them. 



This apiarist took a load of his ear- 

 liest honey down into South Los An- 

 geles to satisfy their "watering" 

 mouths, at three to four cents a pound 

 above the wholesale prices. Do you 

 blame him? 



"Yes," said he "I sold $2.00 worth 

 to your blacksmith". 



"Yes," said I, "that is good, I knew 

 that he wanted some honey." 



Well, if all the profits go into the 

 pocket, then it is a certain sign that 

 there is a very little profit in it, and if 

 you are a real experimenter you can 

 easily try your experiments at the 

 expense of another bee man's honey 

 crop, "now-a-days." 



It was toward the end of the honey 

 flow when I went to the city, and in- 

 stead of sharpening my pick on my 

 own forge, as usual, I took it to the 

 blacksmith. 



"Ahay, there, Dayton, I thought 

 you were dead as you did not come 

 around in so long! Say, now, look 

 a'here. What did your bees gather 

 honey on up there this year?" 



