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1HE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



bees came through the winter in very 

 fair condition, with comparatively 

 little loss, but then came the long wet 

 and cold spring, which resulted in an 

 unusual amount of spring dwindling. 

 Many colonies starved, and brood 

 rearing was so retarded that swarming 

 occurred in most localties fully three 

 weeks later than usual. Owing to 

 the heavy losses and the light swarm- 

 ing, most bee-keepers had a good stock 

 of supplies left on hand, so that they 

 found it necessary to purchase but 

 sparingly. 



The Roots have been giving the 

 thick top frames a thorough trial the 

 past two or three years, and find that 

 they are perfectly clean as far as wax 

 is concerned, although they are soiled 

 more or less by propolis. They say 

 that the bee-keeper who has tried the 

 two styles of frames side by side, the 

 thin top bar and the thick top bar, 

 will surely declare that he will never 

 use the former again. 



The Progressive Bee-Keeper thinks 

 Ave " never miss an opportunity to 

 hit one of our contemporaries a lick." 

 This is a very "unkind cut" from 

 Brother Quigley, and is really unjust- 

 ifiable. We never find fault unless 

 we have good reasons for doing so, 

 but when occasion requires we do not 

 hesitate to " call down" the offender. 



Some unprincipled wretch has been 

 putting adulterated honey on the 

 market bearing the label "Muth's 

 California Machine-extracted Hon- 

 ey," although Mr. Muth (G. F.) has 

 never seen the honey and does not 

 know from whence it came. This is 

 some of the honey on which Prof. 

 Wiley based some of his reports. 



About the only advice to beginners- 

 that we can give this month is to pro- 

 ceed about the same as during last 

 month. During the fore part of the 

 month in this locality the bees get 

 sufficient flow to keep up breeding, 

 and during the latter part of the fall 

 flowers begin to bloom— Goldenrod,- 

 astors, etc., and often more honey 

 is gathered from them than from the 

 spring flowers. As much brood should 

 be reared as possible, and now is a 

 good time to introduce new queens. 

 In case the honey flow should cease 

 look out for robbers. You will find 

 it more difficult to restrain robbing 

 now than at any other time should it 

 begin. Keep all colonies strong. This 

 can be done by dividing up, and it is 

 very desirable to have strong colo- 

 nies now, for your bees will then win- 

 ter satisfactorily. 



We are quite short of articles for 

 publication these summer months, 

 and we hope our readers will send in 

 some articles without delay. 



Owing to the very low prices of 

 beeswax, we have reduced the price 

 of foundation three cents a pound on 

 all kinds. 



A Good Feeder. 



Above we give an illustration of » 

 feeder recently put on the market by 

 W. D. Soper, Jackson, Mich. It is 

 made entirely of tin, and is recom- 

 mended by those who have used it as 

 an excellent entrance feeder. 



