126 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



Feb. 8, 1906 



should there be any on the ground, for a space 

 of 3 feet in front of the hives. 



I forgot to say that on top of the first two 

 sheets I placed some woven-wire netting that 

 I use in the garden in the summer-time for 

 the peas to run on. I placed this on top, and 

 then weighted it down with old lumber to 

 keep the wind from blowing it off. 



Packing these bees thus cost me not to ex- 

 ceed 10 cents per colonv. Wm. G. Roberts. 



Panora, Iowa, Dec. 28, 1905. 



Results of the Season of 1905 



I had (J colonies of bees laat spring, and in- 

 creased to 8. Two of the weakest swarmed, 

 and the rest gave 100 pounds of section honey, 

 which I sold at IS to 20 cents per section. 



My bees are in good shape for winter, with 

 plenty of honey to last until it comes again. 



I used T-supers on cases as soon as sections 

 came into use. I sawed the T-strips with a 

 foot-power saw, so I used them before I knew 

 of Dr. Miller. Dr. Miller was the first to be- 

 gin the use of top and bottom starters in sec- 

 tions. My bees would build up through be- 

 tween sections. Then 1 tried putting start- 

 ers at the bottom of the sections, and it worked 

 like a charm. I have used them that way ever 

 since. Henry Best. 



Hibbetts, Ohio, Dec. 29, 1905. 



Did Fairly Well the Past Season 



I put my bees into the cellar Dec. 15, and 

 they are in pretty fair condition, seeming to 

 rest easy. The cellar is fresh and sweet, 

 where the thermometer reaches 30 and 40 de 

 grees above zero. All have plenty of stores 

 for winter. They did fairly well the past sea- 

 son, as I sold nearly 1000 pounds of honey, and 

 have 500 left. I sell all my honey around 

 home and in neighboring towns; comb honey 

 from 10 to 15 cents, extracted 60 cents per 

 half gallon jar, or SI 20 per gallon. I sell more 

 extacted than comb honey. I extracted SO 

 pounds of honey from each of some colonies, 

 and from some "5 pounds of section honey. I 

 think it pays better to run for comb honey, but 

 one thing is certain, it does not sell as well 

 here as does extracted. People 6ay it is too 

 dear ; they say it is nice, but would rather take 

 a jar of extracted. Sometimes I give them a 

 section as a sample, and when I meet them 

 again they ask me whether I have some more 

 of that nice section honey, and they some- 

 times buy 10 or 15 pounds at a time. 



I have a rubber stamp with my name and 

 address, and every section is stamped, as it 

 looks more neat. B. F. Schmidt. 



N. Buena Vista, Iowa. Dec. 28, 1905. 



Home-Made Hives and Frames 



Mr. J. E Johnson, on page (1905), wrote a 

 splendid article on home-made hives, trusts, 

 etc., which is worth the price of the Journal 

 for a long time. 



I started the bee-business 23 years ago when 

 it was next to impossible to get factory-made 

 hives. I bought the "A B C of Bee-Culture," 

 which contained directions for making hives 

 by machinery, and from it I studied out a 

 plan to make them by hand As Mr. Johnson 

 said he did, I made several failures before I 

 could make a good hive cheaply; but now, 

 with the exception of the locked corners, I 

 have as good a hive as 1 care for, with less 

 work than Mr. Johnson did. 



I made a frame hive, Langstroth size, with 

 bottoms and covers that I like better than any 

 factory-made hive covers or bottoms I ever 

 saw. For bottom-boards I simply used 1x14 

 inch boards cut 24 inches long, which is enough 

 longer than the hive to make a nice alighting- 

 board. I used 2x4 all-heart yellow pine for 

 sills cut angling, or 14 inches on one edge and 

 18 on the other so as to give a wide founda- 

 tion to prevent the wind blowing the hives 

 over during a storm. These I set on thin Hat 

 rocks or bricks, which keep the hive-bottoms 

 off the ground, and by keeping them well 

 painted they will last a life-time, as I have 

 some I made in 1S82, and they are sound and 

 good yet. 



In making the cover, I used boards a little 

 wider, 1x16 inches, cut 20 !.,' inches long. I 

 wet the heart side and laid them in the sun- 



shine on wet ground or grass, wet side down, 

 and in half a day they were cupped to an oval 

 shape sufficient to turn water. 



For end stuff I used 1x3, cut on one edge 

 the shape of a wagon felloe, and the same 

 length as the width of the cover. 60 the a >- 

 inch stuff used on the sides of the cover will 

 come up against the edge of the wide board 

 and nail well. I then covered it with tin and 

 put on iron handles, made in a blacksmith's 

 shop, on the center of the cover, and painted 

 the hive. 



In making the body of the hive I cut the 

 lumber the proper length alter rabbeting the 

 end-stuff for frames to rest on, and nailed 

 together, with the heart side out to prevent 

 cupping or pulling off at the corners, with 

 four 8d nails to each corner. 



For an entrance to the hive I cut out, on the 

 lower edge of the front end of the hive, a strip 

 :, s x6 inches, or sometimes this strip maybe 

 the full width of the hive. 



For frames, I proceed almost as Mr. John- 

 son did, except the hand-ripping of good 

 boxes. I went to the lumber-yard and se- 

 lected all sap-fencing lumber 1x6 inches, 

 and 12 or 14 feet long, and had it ripped at the 

 planing-mill the sizes or thicknesses desired, 

 and used the pattern or miter box for cutting. 

 To prevent splitting in nailing, I put the ma- 

 terial (after it had been cut into the proper 

 lengths) into a tub of water for a few minutes, 

 for, as you know, a sappy stick does not split 

 easily. 



Now, for comb-guides ! I learned from Mr. 

 Doolittle, in the American Bee Journal, how 

 to make a wax comb guide and starter all in 

 one. I will not tell here how that is done, 

 but it's all right, for I have used it for years, 

 even in section-boxes. D. F. Marrs. 



Lorena, Tex., Sept. 17, 1905. 



The Season of 1905 



I had 70 colonies to start with in the spring 

 of 1905, During the season I took 4130 pounds 

 of choicest white honey. In the fall I sold 3 

 colonies, and put 115 into the cellar. 



Jacques Verret. 



Charlesbourg, Que., Jan. 23. 



Bee-Men and Bees— Large Sections 



I have often thought what a fraternal lot of 

 fellows bee-men are ! I think I hear some one 

 say, " Tou don't know them all or you would 

 not say that," Well, I don't know all of them, 

 or nearly all, and those I do know I have been 

 introduced to through the bee papers, but I 

 will say that the man who is out of this fra- 

 ternal ring, and always has a bone of conten- 

 tion or an axe to grind is not a bee-man, or 

 much of a man of any kind. There seems to 

 be something in the business from beginning 

 to end which works benefit for all concerned. 



To start at the beginning, the bees benefit 

 the flowers which they visit. The process of 

 mixing the pollen from one flower with that 

 of others, I suppose we all understand. While 

 the bees are thus working good for the seed of 

 the plant, and eventually the harvester, they 

 are also supplying the colony with a subsis- 

 tence from its sac of honey and basket of 

 pollen. After a time the little workers have 

 some of this treasure to 6pare, and it is placed 

 up-stairs in the sections or extracting combs. 

 They are thereby benefiting him who has sup- 

 plied them with a home beat adapted to their 

 needs. 



After a time the honey is harvested and 60ld, 

 and I am not sure that he who purchases the 

 precious sheet is not the most benefited. I 

 must not forget the supply-dealers; they, in 

 the course of events, must al60 be greatly 

 helped, 



I have now something a little different 

 which I would like to say. 



I noticed several articles lately in the differ- 

 ent journals regarding a larger package for 

 comb honey. Now, if you ask for a show of 

 hands, mine goes up in favor of thi6. But I 

 would add another clause: When that section 

 grows large enough to weigh about 2 pounds, 

 then sell it in the only way which honey 

 should be sold — by weight. As it now stands, 

 the same amount of work, package, and foun- 

 dation is required to produce a 12-ounce sec- 

 tion as one weighing 16 ounces, and can not, 

 therefore, be sold profitably by weight. The 



cost of producing a larger section would not 

 be in proportion to its size, and it could then 

 be sold profitably by weight. 



I also believe the bees would start work 

 much sooner in these larger sections than in 

 the ones now used. They surely would sell 

 a6 readily, so would we not get a crop of comb 

 honey off our hands much soonerl I would 

 like to hear what such men as Dr. Miller have 

 to say on the subject. H. A. Smith. 



Palermo, Unt., Canada. 



Experience with Bees and Sparrows 



After reading on page 907 (1905) what Em 

 Dee has to say about the sparrows and various 

 other birds doing so much good, besides stick- 

 ing up for our faithful, everlasting worker, 

 the bee. I concluded to give some of my ex- 

 perience. 



One day last summer, as I stood watching 

 my bees, I noticed a sparrow alight on one of 

 the hives and pick up a bee crawling on the 

 hive-cover, then fly away, and after a few mo- 

 ments' absence it came back with several 

 others, and these, besides two or three king- 

 birds, were playing havoc among my laborers, 

 so. of course, I decided to stand it no longer, 

 and went in for my Marlin repeater shot-gun, 

 but on returning I was surprised to see noth- 

 ing of the birds. However, I went over towards 

 the orchard, when lo, and behold ! the sight 

 there. They were at home eating June-bugs, 

 which do much damage to this fruit-growing 

 district by eating every leaf on the whole 

 tree. But I would prove to my friends at once 

 as to their value, and, taking aim, I brought 

 down two sparrows and one king-bird, and 

 drawing my knife, I opened their breasts and 

 found in the two sparrows, 273 June-bugs, 13 

 bees, and some other small insects; in the 

 king-bird were 3 bees and 62 June-bugs, 7 

 angle-worms, and a few half-digested insects 

 like beetles. 



This shows that their harm-doing qualities 

 are indeed very limited in proportion to all 

 the good done by them. Tell the young hunter 

 (I mean your boy) never to molest these song- 

 sters, as this day we are enjoying the over- 

 abundant big crop of fruit, vegetables and 

 grain, also including the different varieties of 

 flowers. All this would be practically useless 

 to us if our faithful pets went back on us. 

 " Spare the birds and such animals as do more 

 good than harm," and think before you act. 

 H. Petzold. 



Warren, Wis., Dec. 28, 1905. 



More About the Sparrow 



Like Mr. Stolley. I often read stuff which 

 6eems to require refutation, but what's the 

 use? (Page 48. ) But when a defense is made 

 on behalf of the English sparrow, then truth 

 can not be repeated too often. 



It is not my desire to deny that the English 

 6parrow does a little good once in awhile, but 

 the harm which he does in destroying the 

 nests of other birds, such as martins, blue- 

 birds, wrens, etc., fully justifies the employ- 

 ment of any means tending towards his exter- 

 mination. 



Mr. Stolley says: ''Of all the birds we have, 

 the sparrow destroys more insects, worms and 

 caterpillars than does any other kind of bird." 

 Supposing that he had reference to the Eng- 

 lish sparrow, I would like to remind him that 

 our Government issues a pamphlet on the 

 sparrow and its relation to agriculture, which, 

 if he is interested in the truth of the matter, I 

 would advise him to obtain. 



I had one of these pamphlets, but gave it 

 away some time ago, so I have to draw on my 

 memory for what I am to write. It describes 

 perhaps 15 or more varieties of sparrows, all 

 natives of America except one— the English or 

 house-sparrow. All the native sparrows de- 

 pend more or less upon insects for their living, 

 and all destroy more injurious than beneficial 

 insects; they eat but little grain, and conse- 

 quently are not often seen in the neighbor- 

 hood of houses or barns. Our friend, the 

 English sparrow, however, is never found on 

 meadows, etc., or any distance from houses or 

 barns except in grain-fields ; he lives on grain 

 mostly, takes a few insects occasionally for a 

 change of diet, and of these he prefers such 

 as not only do no harm, but which are really 

 beneficial in destroying other injurious in- 



