o4 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



March 



any colony devoted to tlie production 

 of extracted honey having a, queen ex- 

 cluding; honey-board between the up- 

 per story and brood-chamber. Remove 

 two frames from the upper story of 

 such a colony, and in their place put 

 two frames of unsealed brood. The 

 object in doing this is to draw a larj^e 

 force of nurse-bees above to attend to 

 the qneen-cells. Two days later remove 

 another frame from the upper story, 

 spread the two frames of brood apart 

 and place a prepared frame between 

 them. By "prepared frame" is meant 

 a frame containing a number of queen 

 cell-cups, each supplied with a little 

 royal jelly and a larva about a day old. 

 About fifteen cells are as many as a 

 colony should be allowed to build at one 

 time. 



In order to improve our stock for 

 honey-gathering we must keep a record 

 each season of our best colonies and 

 rear queens from the stock giving the 

 best results. Have them crossed as far 

 as possible with drones not akin of 

 other good stock. This is accomplished 

 by stocking our apiary with drones not 

 related to our breeding-queens. This is 

 very important and must not be over- 

 looked if we desire to improve our stock. 



In presenting the foregoing, the Ohio 

 Farmer says that the writer, a Iven- 

 tucky apiarist, is considered one of the 

 best queen-raisers in tiie country. 



IS IT BEST TO KEEP BEES? 



BY IJKV. C. M. HEItKING. 



THIS question is worthy of consider- 

 ation by our farmers. During these 

 long winter evenings of quiet 

 thought and study, in which the plans 

 and enterprises of the coming season are 

 all talked over with the good wife and the 

 boys, tliis question should come in for a 

 share. In tiie midst of such a family 

 council I would like to intrude^ myself 

 and speak on. this (|Uosti(ui. 



Ivet thi' wiu)le famil\' he assembled — 

 girls, boys, and. if you wisii. tlu' neigh- 



bors : and let every one be free to raise 

 objections. Says the tirst speaker: '"I 

 like the beef, but I am afraid of their 

 stings. That barbed, pointed sting that 

 fastens in my flesh, and causes sharp 

 pain afid swelling, is what drives me as 

 far as possible from the company of 

 bees. If these creatures had no stings 1 

 would look upon them with favor!" 



Yes, it is true this is one of the 

 drawbacks in keeping bees. There is 

 a universal dread of this poisonous 

 weapon, and when its barbed point 

 pierces our flesh it causes pain. But in 

 time this evil will almost entirely disap- 

 pear. There are remedies and devices 

 by which it is controlled and diverted. 

 Inside of a successful apiary the master 

 has no fear. He knows when and how 

 far to venture, and ihe remedy to be ap- 

 plied, and he moves among his bees as 

 though they were so many files. 



And then, in many respects, the sting 

 of the bee is a benefit. It is used as a 

 trowel in capping tlie honey and prepar- 

 ing it for long keeping. And the 

 dread of its power in the minds of all 

 intruders and thieves is a constant pro- 

 tection to the hives and all the grounds. 

 In all my long experience in bee-culture 

 I never had but one hive which was at- 

 tempted to bo stolen ; and that was only 

 moved about twenty feet from the stand, 

 when the enraged bees' so chased away 

 the robbers as never to return. 



You object again that you have no 

 gumption for such business, and if com- 

 menced you will mak(! a failure. This 

 is true with many who start out on this 

 business without counting the cost. The 

 work requires careful study and deter- 

 mination. Like all other business, it 

 will not run itself. As for peculiar 

 gumption, it is all a sham that many 

 people have that they are not particular 

 favorites of the bees and can never come 

 into their fellowi'hip. The man who has 

 good common sense, determination and 

 push, has the gumption required. 



And while it. is true that there is a 

 diversity of talents among men, and some 



