THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPEB 



Fvhriinry 



ready for as many swarms as yon expect; 

 one for each present colony is enoiigli 

 unless you are planning to increase veiy 

 rapidly. Also see that you have at least 

 one extra hive body for each colony you 

 have, for when wanted they are wanted 

 very much. Attend to all painting. An 

 abundance of frames is almost a neces- 

 sity, and some of them should be fitted 

 with one-inch wide starters of founda- 

 tion. Full sheets should not be put in 

 frames until nearly time to use them. If 

 you are planning to produce honey in 

 sections, these should be folded and 

 starters or full sheets put in them. If 

 you lack any of these supplies, order 

 them at once. 



The next thing to do is to look over 

 your tools, the first and most important 

 of which is the smoker. If yours is 

 wheezy and wind- broken and generally 

 out of repair get a big new one, paint 

 the boards of the bellows, oil the leather 

 and give the tin a coat of asphalt varn- 

 ish, and you will be glad many times 

 over bye-and-bye. Next, if you have not 

 a modern foundation-fastener, get one; 

 that is, if you produce any honey in 

 sections. A honey-extractor is an abso- 

 lute necessity whether you make a 

 specialty of section honey or not; so, if 

 you have none, get one pf some kind — a 

 reversible one if you can afford it. There 

 are also many convenient accessories, 

 such as queen-excluding honey-boards, 

 drone-traps, Porter bee-escapes etc., 

 that help in many ways and arid to the 

 pleasure and often to the profit of the 

 pursuit, but which are not absolutely 

 necessaiy. 



Perliaps you think I am cutting out 

 rather an expensive contract for you. 

 At tiie start, maybe yes, but in the end, 

 decidedly no. Fur several years I tried 

 to get along with all sorts of makeshifts 

 and I speak from both unj)leasant and 

 costly experience. The best is the 

 cheapest in the end and the more com- 

 plete your outfit the greater pleasure 

 you will be able to get from your bees, 

 besides the minimum of labor in handling 

 them. 



Providence, R. I. Jan., 1901. 



" I'LL PULL AND YOU PUSH." 



ItV G. M. DOOLITILE. 



NOT long ago a lady told a little 

 story that has caused me to do 

 some thinking ever since, and as 

 I was thinking about it to-day I conclud- 

 ed to tell it to the readers of The Amkr- 

 ICAN Bee-keeper, together with a few 

 of my thoughts on the same. 



The lady went out calling one beauti- 

 ful afternoon in October, but nothing 

 out of the ordinary happened at the 

 first place she stopped. When she rang 

 the bell at the second place she waited 

 some time before she heard any res- 

 ponse. Then a door opened and shut 

 somewhere upstairs and presently there 

 was the sound of little feet coming down 

 child fashion, both feet on a stair. The 

 knob turned and there was an effort to 

 pull the door inward, but the task was 

 t(.o much for the little hands inside. In 

 vain they twisted the knob and tugged 

 at the door; it stuck on the threshold 

 and refused to budge. She was just 

 about to lend a hand of her own accord, 

 when a small and almost breathless 

 voice said, "I'm 'fraid I tant let you in, 

 'cause the door sticks so. Would you 

 please help me a bit ? I'll pull and you 

 push, then maybe we can get it open." 

 '•Very well, I'll push," answered the 

 lady, and when her effort was added to 

 that of the little lad within, the door 

 swung hospitably open. Yes, his mother 

 was home, he said, in answer to her 

 question, and would be down in a mo- 

 ment. So she sat down to wait, and the 

 small boy climbed the stairs again. "A 

 lady wants to see you," she heard him 

 announce ; " I 'most couldn't let her in, 

 mother, the door stuck so bad. But I 

 pulled and she pushed, and then it had 

 to come. We were too strong for the old 

 door, bofe of us together." The lady 

 smiled as she heard him chatter away, 

 and soon the mother came. 



Some way that little story has gone 

 with me ever since I heard it: "I'll pull 

 and you push." So many good enter- 



