189G. 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEP:PER. 



153 



those colouies in the fall that havu't 

 honey enough to run them for the 

 winter, thereby losing many good 

 strong colonies, and by neglecting to 

 provide for our bees in the fall, I am 

 confident is the cause of three-fourths 

 of our winter losses, for I am confident 

 that more bees darve to death in winter 

 and early spring than are lost from 

 all other causes combined. 



Another very serious mistake often 

 made by beginners and inexperienced 

 bee-keepers is spreading the brood in 

 early spring, and of putting on the 

 supers too early, thereby weakening 

 all colonies, and with a good chance 

 of having a cold snap, chill all the 

 young brood, and if supers are on the 

 hives too early, you are depriving the 

 bees of warmth that should have been 

 kept in the brood chamber, for warm- 

 th and honey bees must have in early 

 spring if they build up in time for 

 basswood and clover harvest. 



Another mistake often made by 

 many is hiving a new swarm in a new 

 place. Why not put the new swarm 

 on the stand of the old swarm, and 

 and take one frame of brood from the 

 old swarm and give it to the new 

 swarm, and move the old swarm to a 

 new location, thereby throwing all of 

 the field force of workers to the new 

 colony and doing away with after- 

 swarming ? 



How many bee-keepers are there 

 who have gotten their hives, founda- 

 tions, etc., made up and ready for the 

 coming harvest ? I am afraid there 

 are a good many who havn't been 

 putting things in shape for the coming 

 busy season, and to those who havn't 

 ordered and made up their supplies 

 this winter, I would like to ask this 

 question : When do you intend get- 



ting your supplies ? Better do so be- 

 fore swarming time, as it isn't very 

 profitable to^vait until you are in need 

 of hives and sections before ordering, 

 for if you do, by the time you receive 

 your goods, the honey flow is a thing 

 of the past, and your swarms if 3'ou 

 save any of them at all, you will have 

 to put them in boxes, kegs, or any- 

 thing you can get that will hold them. 

 And then what a time you will have 

 of transferring. If you want to be in 

 the race this summer, better commence 

 now, and get everything in place. 



In conclusion let me say that if you 

 wish to be successful with your bees, 

 you must give them the proper atten- 

 tion, and do it at the proper time. 

 Furnish them some kind of shade for 

 summer, and keep the weeds down 

 from around the hives. Procure some 

 good text book on bee culture, read 

 and duchj the habits of the bees, and if 

 you are in love with your pets, you 

 will soon learn enough to avoid a 

 great many of the mistakes often 

 made by beginners. Remember that 

 what is worth doing at all is worth 

 doing well, and that well begun is 

 half done. 



Griffin, Ind. 



(From Ainerican B* e Journal, Oct. 17, li*!).>). 



APIS DORSATA AND OTHEk 

 THINGS. 



BY W. K. MORRISON. 



Apis Dorsata has had a hard time 

 of it lately, according to some author- 

 ities, but I take little stock in "sich." 

 Prof. Cheshire's arguments have 

 chiefly been relied on to give support 

 to specious pleas. Now nothing can 

 be more fallacious than Cheshire's 

 reasoning on this subject. He must 

 have hurried himself when writing on 



