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THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



May 31, 1906 



quests can be sent to the Secretary of the Congress, Mr. C. 

 Hansom, of Rockdale, Tex., who will receive them. But 

 for this to "hold good" the delegates must claim their 

 rooms in person on the first day. Special quarters in the 

 south section of Foster Hall have been reserved for the 

 ladies, and the same rules for reserved rooms for lady dele- 

 gates will hold as above. For any other information in re- 

 gard to this convention, letters may be addressed to me, 

 and I will gladly give it, if I can do so. 



Louis H. Scholl, 



Committee on Program, 

 Secretary-Treasurer Texas Bee- Keepers' Association. 



Conducted by Morlbt Pettit, Villa Nova, Ont. 



Visit to R. H. Smith— Honey Exhibit 



I spent a very pleasant half day at the home of R. H. 

 hmith, of St. Thomas, recently. He is situated in a closely 

 populated residential section of the city, and has besides 

 his 100 or so colonies of bees there, a workshop and honey- 

 house, where supplies are made and honey is put up for his 

 trade, which not only supplies the city of St. Thomas, but 

 extends to customers all over the Dominion. In this way 

 Mr. Smith not only disposes of the product of his home and 

 out apiaries, but he also handles a considerable quantity of 

 his neighbors' honey. 



A good idea in advertising is the material turned out by 

 a hand-printing press, operated by his son Henry. He prints 

 their own letter-heads and envelops, postal cards, colored 

 labels, etc. I enclose sample of blotter which is useful 

 enough for the grocer to keep on his desk as a constant re- 

 minder of Smith's honey. 



Mr. and Mrs. Smith gave me a very interesting account 

 or their trip to Jamaica last winter. They engaged in bee- 

 keeping while there, but saw no prospect of its being an 

 especially profitable business. 



Canadians will be glad to learn that Mr. Smith has 

 found where the German bee-brush, described by Mr. Hol- 

 termann at the Brantford convention, is "made in Canada." 



Referring to the picture on the front page, Mr. Smith 



It is our 19th annual exhibit of honey and beeswax at the Cana- 

 dian National Exhibition at Toronto, September, 1905. This exhibit 

 (which was awarded First Prize for best display) was 25 feet long but 

 owing to the limited space in front, the picture could only be taken 

 irom the one end, and, consequently, does not fully show up the gen- 

 eral design. It is made up of 11 entries in comb and extracted honev 

 aggregating about 2000 pounds. Some original features are shown 

 Un the table in front, at the right, was an observatory hive of bees 

 [not shown in the engraving] with sections above, in different stages 

 completion, from comb foundation to the finished comb- litho- 

 graphed tin packages— the first of the kind to be put upon the'market 

 fiere; a small section of comb honey that retails for 5 cents is on top 

 of the pail. This is a lively seller. A dish of cut comb honey (the 

 famous honey on a stick for 5 cents), which has created a good mar- 

 ket tor honey, appears at the corner. Two large fish-globes filled 

 witfi comb honey by the bees, are shown as curiosities inthe'back- 

 ground - R. H. Smith. 



Report of the Middlesex Co., Ont., Convention 



This Association held its spring meeting in London 

 Ont., May 5, 1906. The beekeeping fraternity of the 

 County was well represented, and in addition were H G 

 Sibbald Wm. Couse, W. J. Craig, R. H. Smith, and Morley 

 Pettit, from other counties. 



The reports in wintering showed a considerable loss 

 among cellar-wintered bees, owing to cellars having been 

 too warm ; but that outdoor bees had come through in good 

 condition. & s««" 



The program took the form of a Question Drawer, when 

 the usual questions were brought forward and thrashed out 

 The bees preferred for white capping in comb honey were 

 those of a cross between Italians and blacks. Some pre- 

 ferred the Italian-Carniolan cross, but did not want much 

 Carniolan blood on account of theirswarming propensities. 



As to how many colonies can safely be kept in one yard, 



Mr. Sibbald thought, all considered, 100 is the right num- 

 ber. F. A. Gemmill had kept bees successfully where there 

 were 350 in the one locality. The conclusion was that all 

 depends upon the locality. 



All kinds of separators were recommended for comb 

 honey, but the preference was given to those through which 

 the bees can pass freely. 



Spring feeding received quite a bit of attention. Many 

 said, " Be sure the bees have sufficient in the fall, then let 

 them alone in the spring." Others recommended feeding 

 to keep up brood-rearing between fruit-bloom and clover. 

 The idea advanced by the present writer was to place in 

 open feeders in the yard, thin syrup made of nearly 2 parts 

 water to 1 of sugar, and in this way produce the conditions 

 of a natural honey-flow. 



The Alexander plan of helping weak colonies by placing 

 them over strong ones with a queen-excluder between, was 

 mentioned as having been tried by a few with a fair amount 

 of success. Mr. Brainard uses 2 queen-excluders between 

 to prevent the possibility of queens getting in touch with 

 each other. Then when they are separated again the strong 

 colony is moved to a new stand, and the weak one left to 

 get the benefit of the returning bees. 



The new Foul Brood Act was up for discussion, and 

 seemed to meet the approval of most of the members present. 



The convention adjourned to meet again the first Satur- 

 day in November, 1906. 



^ ♦— -^^^ 



Brood to the Top-Bar in Combs 



Dr. Miller and E. R. Root have overlooked a very im- 

 portant point (page 381). The sagging of the foundation 

 is not due to the fact that wires are horizontal, but that 

 they are not taut. We are taught to leave the wires a little 

 slack, to allow the foundation to sag a little ; then cry be- 

 cause the enlarged cells produce drones 1 Oh, " consistency 

 thou art a jewel !" Horizontal wiring is all right, provided 

 it is done right. 



©ur* Sister 

 23eeKcepers 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



Honey for Anemia and Baby Food 



J 



A French journal relates that a young woman suffering 

 from severe anemia was told by an eminent physician that 

 he could not cure her, but advised a trial of diet of milk and 

 honey, aided by strolls in the woods. This simple treat- 

 ment, in a few months, restored her exhausted body. 



Another case is mentioned in which honey saved the 

 life of a babe. Obliged to resort to the bottle, it was fed on 

 cow's milk sweetened with sugar. But soon obstinate con- 

 stipation required the constant use of laxatives. This 

 abnormal condition was finally radically modified by the 

 use of honey in place of sugar in the milk. 



It would be for the health and happiness of many a 

 family if the sisters would see to it that honey and sub-acid 

 fruits, instead of being only occasionally used, were put on 

 the daily bill of fare. 



^ i — ■ 



Women Bee-Keepers Not Trouble-Makers 



As the number of women engaged in bee-keeping is 

 small compared with the number of men, it is only natural 

 that a proportionately smaller number should get into 

 trouble with their neighbors on account of the bees, and so 

 it is not to be expected that Mr. France, General Manager 

 of the National, should have much trouble from the sisters. 

 It is gratifying, however, to know that so far Mr. France 

 has had no complaints from any of the sisters. Are women 

 less quarrelsome than men, or is there so much native gal- 

 lantry in men that they refuse to get into trouble with a 

 bee-keeper who is a woman ? 



But Mr. France is not without his troubles with women 

 who are not bee-keepers. He has a grievance against 

 " Aunt Harriet," because she says in the Farm Journal that 



