54 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Jan. 18, 1906 



Reports cmb 

 (Sxperiences 



Bees in Fine Condition 



My bees are in fine condition, heavy with 

 honey. They are also in good health so far as 

 I can see. The last two days were fine for a 

 cleansing flight. I have them warm, snug 

 and dry, and feel that they are likely to go 

 through the winter with little or no loss. I 

 expect to practice simulating the bees for 

 brood-rearing, beginning early in the spring, 

 say about a month previous to swarming time. 

 In fact, I form many plans in winter, and my 

 imagination is much exercised regarding bees. 

 J. H. Collins. 



Bardwell, Ky., Dec. 28, 1905. 



House-Top Apiary and City Honey 



Bees did well for a house-top apiary. Two 

 colonies were taken out of the cellar April 1, 

 1905, with one queenless. I sent for an Ital- 

 ian queen, introduced her, and she commenced 

 to lay April 10. The colony held its own re- 

 markably well. I received 6 queens June 

 15, and divided up the 3 colonies and made 6 

 nuclei. All built up fine and went into the 

 cellar Nov. 15 in good shape. The old colo- 

 nies built up rapidly and gave me 140 pounds 

 of section honey. 



Drexel Boulevard honey is very fine; an ex- 

 pert would most likely call it sweet clover 

 honey. 



No, I would not think of doing without the 

 American Bee Journal. Even if I did not 

 keep bees I would still wish to know what 

 bee-folk were doing. 



Chicago, 111., Jan. 2. B. F. Lindset. 



Season of 1905 in Tennessee 



Last spring we had fine weather and lots of 

 bloom, but no honey. In midsummer the 

 cow-peas gave some surplus honey. Fall 

 flowers did well, and bees were in fine condi- 

 tion for winter. 



Big Spring, Tenn. Dr. J. G. Goodner. 



Study Youp Bees and Methods 



I am only a small farmer bee-keeper but I 

 take pleasure in handling my bees and having 

 them submit to my will as far as possible. 

 But in order to do this, we must not try to 

 force them to do something that is entirely 

 different from their habits, or at a time when 

 they are not willing, but give them their own 

 sweet will to some extent. To do this, first 

 read the experience of the older bee-keepers 

 and then study your own bees carefully, and 

 if you can't handle them as you would like to, 

 change the stock ; send for some queens that 

 you think will meet your desire, but carefully 

 study your own bees all the while and you 

 will see many mistakes on your part when a 

 beginner. I have kept bees only three years, 

 and now have only 9 colonies, packed in forest 

 leaves, wintering out-of-doors. My bees had 

 foul brood last spring and I treated it myself. 

 I think it will be a success. 



I have one bee-book and take one bee-paper ; 

 these every farmer who keeps bees should 

 have. J. F. Group. 



Franklin Grove. 111.. Jan. 4. 



The Enjoyment of Nature Study 



Friend York : — I want you to help me ex- 

 tend my arm long enough to reach way across 

 the country, to say to Prof. Bigelow, of Stam- 

 ford, Conn., " Shake'' for his report of 1905 

 honey crop. His experience is quite like 

 mine, though I think his harvest of stings a 

 much larger crop than I can boast of. His 

 number of colonies are about the average of 

 mine from year to year, though mine are in 

 excess of that number now. The pleasure de- 

 rived from the study of bees pays me tenfold 

 for all the labor and trouble attendant on car- 



ing for them. I can not get along now with- 

 out a colony in my room to experiment with. 

 I have promised to install such a colony in 

 the home of one of our popular matrons here 

 at the Lake next spring. She is anxious to 

 study the habits of this curious, most interest- 

 ing, aud busy little creature. 



Of course, it is all right to look after the 

 material interests — the dollar factor — con- 

 nected with the business of bee-keeping, as in 

 any other pursuit . but, there is something 

 connected with every pursuit of labor, espe- 

 cially where one comes in close contact with 

 Nature, far more valuable in making up the 

 sum of happiness than the mere act of money- 

 getting. Therefore, the farmer, it seems to 

 me, if he properly uses his opportunities, 

 should be the happiest person to be found, be- 

 cause he is in touch with Nature constantly. 



Lake Geneva, Wis. Wm. M. Whitney. 



An Old Bee-Keeper's Report 



My bees did fairly well the past season. I 

 started in the spring with 57 colonies, sold 7, 

 and one robbed, leaving me 49. I got over 

 3000 pounds of honey and have now in the cel- 

 lar 6S colonies. Last year (1904) I had a bet- 

 ter yield. We never get large yields here, but 

 we get the best of honey. We are not troubled 

 with moths or wax-worms; no fumigation 

 needed. The largest surplus I have ever had 

 from one colony, spring count, was in 1904. I 

 brushed a swarm from a strong colony June 

 18, set the old one away and put the new one 

 in its place. From the new swarm I took 5 

 supers of 28 7-to-the-foot sections each, and 3 

 supers from the old colony, all well finished 

 and capped. I did most of the work myself, 

 and it was a little too much for me. I don't 

 expect to do much more bee-work, as I am 

 now 86. H. P. Willson. 



Bathgate, N. D. 



Last Season's Results 



The fall of 1904 I put 60 colonies into the 

 cellar, and last spring took out 46. I lost 2 

 more later on, so I started the 6eason with 

 44 colonies. I took from them 2450 pounds 

 of comb honey, all white clover. I kept 200 

 pounds for my own use, gave away 50 pounds, 

 and sold 17393-4 pounds — through the St. 

 Croix Valley Honey-Producers' Association — 

 for $189.S8; the remainder I sold locally at 

 10 and 12 cents per pound. All together the 

 bees gave me about $265 worth of honey, and 

 increased to 70 colonies. I put 69 colonies in- 

 to the cellar Oct. 30, heavy and healthy, with 

 the temperature between 40 and 50 degrees. 



I have bought my supplies for next season 

 through the St. Croix Valley Association, 

 which amounted to$134.96. This Association 

 has been a benefit to a great number of bee- 

 keepers through this section of the country. 

 V. A. Hanson. 



Amery, Wis,, Dec. 21, 1905. 



Cause of Spring Dwindling 



I am not advancing a theory, but suggesting 

 a thought brought about by my own experi- 

 ence, that spring dwindling in many cases is 

 the fault of a queen (generally old) that fails 

 to lay early enough in the spring to bring on 

 young bees to replace the regular winter loss. 

 Let professional bee-men discuss this. 



Sioux Falls, Iowa. E. F. Sturges. 



The Best Bee-Hive 



After reading Mr. Doolittle's article on page 

 ssl (1905), I feel like making a few remarks, 

 as he does not seem to have covered all the 

 ground. 



Now, if Mr. Doolittle is speaking of a hive 

 in which bees will winter better than hives 

 having the ordinary Hoffman frame, I agree 

 with him; but if he is holding up such a hive 

 to us as the best for manipulation, I certainly 

 disagree with him most emphatically. 



In the first place, I wish to explain that I 

 live in probably as difficult a place to handle 

 bees as there is in the whole United States ; 

 not because of any scarcity of honey during 

 the spring months, but on account of the ex- 

 cessive rainfall and cool nights. In fact, the 

 nights are so cool, and we are always liable 



during the spring months to have several 

 days in succession so cool that I have never 

 been able to make a success of the nucleus 

 plan of increase. Each nucleus should be at 

 least 3-s of a full colony, and as near a cube as 

 possible; and when in that shape and size it 

 is generally spoken of as a colony instead of a 

 nucleus. 



To come back to the point : Under the 

 above circumstances, wouldn't it be perfectly 

 natural for one so situated to make a close 

 study of the hive question, and also the race 

 of bees suitable for such a climate ? Well, 

 that is just what I have done, and my con- 

 clusions are : 



First, I want a good bee-space above the 

 frames, and a single wide board for a cover ; 

 no quilts, cloths, or oil-cloth above the frames 

 to catch or hold moisture, mold, or moths. 



Second, I want a divisible brood-chamber so 

 the bees can shift from side to side of the hive 

 in winter without having to go above or be- 

 low the frames, and also for summer manipu- 

 lation, as I want to handle hives and not 

 frames. 



Third, and most important of all, I want 

 every section of my hive of the same dimen- 

 sions, i.e., brood-chambers and supers. 



Now, for my purpose, all things considered, 

 give me the Ideal super for everything. 



Foster, Oreg. Geo. B. Whitcomb. 



Not a Good Season in 1905 



Last season as a whole was not a very good 

 one. It was very good up to July IS, but 

 from that date there was no surplus. I had 

 a colony on scales that gathered 11 pounds 

 the best day in basswood flow, which was late 

 this year — the 15th of July, that hot Sunday. 

 I got 24 cents a pound for honey thi6 season ; 

 that is more than any one else got in this 

 county. I am getting 11 cents from the stores 

 for honey, and 12, 1 . 2 cents when I peddle it. I 

 find that people will buy honey when it is 

 brought to the door that will not call for it 

 at the stores. Wm. Cleary. 



Algona, Iowa., Dec. 11, 1905. 



Pleasant Winter So Far 



We have had no zero weather so far. The 

 last three months in the old year were de- 

 lightful. In December the bees were out on 

 the 5th, 6th, 7th, 11th. 24th, 25th, 26th and 

 27th. Since Jan. 1st we have had 3J.,' inches 

 of snow, but it is mild and pleasant now 

 again. Wm. Stollet, Sr. 



Grand Island, Nebr., Jan. 5. 



Results of the Season of 1905 



I have been a bee-keeper for the past 20 

 years, and have never had any trouble in win- 

 tering my bees outdoors in single-walled hives 

 until the past two winters. I iiave always put 

 a Hill's device over the bees and then a burlap 

 sack filled with chaff in the top story, and 

 hardly ever lost a colony until the last two 

 winters. Winter before last I lost all but 7 

 colonies, and last winter all but 6, and they 

 came through not very strong. They did 

 very well, though, giving me 33 pounds of 

 nice comb honey per colony, and 15 new 

 swarms. I now have 18 colonies in fine shape. 



The past season was one of the worst, being 

 very wet and cold. The past fall I went to 

 our store and got all the boxes I could, that 

 had in them rolled oats and coffee, and after 

 removing the top and bottom, I made a cover 

 6 inches deep that would just slipover the 

 box, and put on the cover tarred-felt roofing 

 painted with two coats. Then I removed the 

 upper story of a hive, laid a small chaff cush- 

 ion on the frames and then put on the cover. 

 After this I put the outside ca6e on and 

 packed it all around with dry leaves, putting 

 a lot on top; and last, put on the outside 

 cover. I think that will keep them dry and 

 warm. I will report further on. 



This is my first year with the American Bee 

 Journal, and I like it very much. 



W. J. Young. 



Scotch Ridge, Ohio. Dec. 19, 1905. 



85c for 15 NAMES 



For names and P. O. 

 of 15 farmers and I5c 

 — stamps taken— we 

 will send for 2 yrs. tbe Farmer's Call — rep. sub. 

 price 50c a year. F. C. is a wkly., j5 vrs.ofd, 1,300 

 pages a jr. Sample free. Farmer's Call.iQuincy, 111. 



