THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



J avunry 



The utmost care is necessary at all 

 times when handling se6lion hone}', to 

 keep it in good condition for the city 

 markets: Carelessness with our honey is 

 one of the main reasons why we are so 

 often compelled to take a low price for 

 our product. Honey should always be 

 kept in a warm room with a good circula- 

 tion of air. Never store jour honey in a 

 damp place, as it is likely to sweat and 

 take on a watery appearence. It is neces- 

 sary to use the utmost care from the 

 time the honej' is taken from the hive 

 until it reaches the consumer. In this 

 way, as a class, we will find bee-keeping a 

 profitabl e i nd u stry . 



Fayette, N. Y. Nov. 20, 1899. 

 — ♦ » » — 

 Persevering. 



If Not Always Successful. 



BY J. F. HEATH. 



Ilk AM always interested in communica- 

 B tions found in the American Bee- 

 -^ Keeper written by the leading bee- 

 keepers of the country, and have looked 

 with considerable expectancy for response 

 to the editor's invitation to others to 

 write. 



I presume the invitation was extended 

 to small bee keepers and beginners, to 

 which class I belong. So far the response 

 seems rather meager. 



Now, my advancement along the line 

 of bee-culture has not been so rapid as to 

 make me confident of an early graduation 

 from the adove mentioned class. 



The writings of Mr. Doolittle and the 

 several other scientific bee-keepers I 

 find a source of much pleasure. Although 

 much that is said is far beyond my com- 

 prehension, and often as viewed by men- 

 tal vision "up in a balloon," the mental 

 inquiry occurs accompained by a sigh — 

 will we ever "get there ?" 



I became interested in bees about ten 

 years ago, at which time I bought my 

 first hive of bees. I have never lo.st in- 

 terest in them, though success or failure 

 has several times caused a fluctuation in 

 that interest, 



My stock has never exceeded about a 

 dozen colonies. In several seasons I have 

 been quite successful, or perhaps it might 

 more properly be called fortunate, hs prob- 

 ably it may have been due more to the 

 season and other favorable conditions 

 than to tact and ability on my part. 

 From the first I was (juite ignorant of the 

 subject. 



Often in the early history of our busi- 

 ness association I thought the bees had a 

 very warm attachment for me and I 

 would many times find myself the "great 

 center of attraction,'' brought aboiit doubt- 

 less by my bungling way of handling 

 them, and I often left their presence several 

 degrees wiser than when I came. But as 

 time passed and I became more observant 

 of the bees, their habits and requirements • 

 I learned that quiet movements and care- 

 ful handling very much changed their 

 attitude toward me. 



This state, although credited with lead- 

 ing in some affairs, I think does not rank 

 high as a honey producer. According to 

 reports from different localities in the 

 state the past season has been the most 

 disastrious in a number of years. 



The loss of bees last winter and spring 

 may safely be estimated at fifty per cent. , 

 while the production of honey will not, 

 probably, exceed twenty per cent, of any 

 one of the several preceding seasons, 

 consequently many have become disheart- 

 ened and will drop out. Many bee-keep- 

 ers, especial!}' of the small class, do not 

 read bee literature, and, of course, they 

 do not avail themselves of the benefit de- 

 rived from suggestions and advanced 

 ideas, but manage the bees as did tlieir 

 fathers, or in other words, allow the bees 

 to care for themselves. 



East Thorndike, Me. 



A wash -boil erf ul of red clover blossoms 

 thorougly boiled and the extract reduced 

 by evaporation to the consistency of salve, 

 is a sovereign remedy for cancer, writes a 

 Canadian correspondent. 



