.July 12, 1906 



5<>7 



American Me Journal 



out the honey and leave a greater part of the wax and re- 

 mold it, perhaps adding thereto, building it into small comb 

 in such a way as to obstruct the passage-way. The queen 

 is thus left " behind the bars," and if an examination is not 

 made some time soon after introducing the cage, it may 

 cause trouble. 



I have tried candied extracted honey, when the weather 

 was not too warm, with success. If the candied honey is not 

 very solid there may be trouble by the queens being released 

 too soon. 



Cotton Honey— Beginners and Easily Discour- 

 aged Folks 



Cotton is one of our very best honey-plants, and espe- 

 cially is this true where it grows on black, waxy land. Cot- 

 ton grown on sandy land does not yield nectar as plenti- 

 fully as it does on black land. This, I think, accounts for 

 some saying that the cotton-plant is not a honey-yielder 

 with them. One of the heaviest honey-flows I ever wit- 

 nessed was from the cotton-bloom. The honey is water 

 "clear," and of good body and flavor, and I consider it the 

 equal of any honey I ever saw ; but like alfalfa honey, it is 

 quick to granulate. 



Don't be Afraid to Advise Beginners 



I am receiving letters from all parts of this State, say- 

 ing, " What is the matter with the bees — they have quit 

 swarming and are killing off all their drones ?" etc. 



To the practical apiarist the question almost answers 

 itself, but to the novice it is not so plain. When bees de- 

 stroy and drive out their drones in the height of the breed- 

 ing or swarming season, there is no surer sign to the expe- 

 rienced apiarist that no honey is being gathered, but to the 

 novice it is not so plain. 



Don't be afraid to give advice to the inexperienced on 

 bees or bee-keeping for fear they will become competitors 

 later. I tell you, beekeepers are born, and not made. I 

 have been handing out bee-literature and answering ques- 

 tions, loaning bee-books, etc., lor more than 25 years, and 

 it will not average more than one in ten who will stick to 

 the bees after you have started them right. So, don't be 

 afraid to start others, always remembering that you had to 

 start once, and had it not been for the help of others where 

 would you have been ? 



Bee-Keeping for Easily Discouraged Folks 



I would not recommend bee-keeping to those who are 

 easily discouraged in any business, for the time is sure to 

 come in bee-keeping when their nerve will be put to the 

 severest test. I confess, too, that at such times as the pres- 

 sent, when the bees should just be reveling in honey, that 

 we are compelled to feed for weeks at a stretch; it is trying 

 on the nerves of some of us older ones in the business. We 

 have now been feeding the bees for nearly 6 weeks, and we 

 can hardly hope for a change for the better before June 10. 



Rescue, Tex., May 10. L. B. Smith. 



Oil 



Dee-Keeping 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Mart 



Honey Superior to Sugar as a Nourisher 



For the many sisters who are constantly on the lookout 

 for that which shall best serve as nourishment for their 

 loved ones, here is something from the Praktischer Weg- 

 weiserfuer Bienenzuechterthat can not fail tobeof interest : 



Sugar contains in large quantity that which is needed 

 to support the body, but before the material it contains can 

 be received into the blood, a change in it must be made by 

 the stomach. That change, separating the two kinds of 

 sugar chemically united, demands strength, exertion, of the 



stomach. A weak stomach, however, has not the necessary 

 strength, and so the sugar remains either wholly or in part 

 undigested. Such undigested sugar is not received into the 

 blood, but passes out with the excretions. Not only is no 

 benefit received from it, but actual harm ; for on its way 

 through the alimentary canal it causes abnormal fermenta- 

 tions, producing disease of stomach and bowels. 



The sole sugar-containing material that first requires 

 no digestive process is honey. As water, in certain quan- 

 tity, passes fully and directly into the blood, so honey, 

 without leaving behind the least trace of residuum, passes 

 directly into the blood, and serves for the warmth of the 

 body and the development of vital power. Honey, even 

 though not able alone to sustain life, is a most excellent 

 nutrient. 



Not only is honey an excellent food, but it is inexpen- 

 sive. In order to get the same nourishment offered by a 

 pound of honey, 3 pounds of lean beef must be used, or 2 



pounds of eggs. 



m i ■ 



Souvenir Post-Cards— Bee-Keeping in Colorado 



Dear Miss Wilson: — We have been photographing everything 

 pbotographable on the ranch— colts, dogs, pet lambs, mid bees. I 

 do not know whether you suffer from the post-card mania, but any- 

 way I am sending you two post-cards of my apiary. 



I brought all my 46 colonies through the winter to the middle of 

 April, and felt quite proud. Then I went away from home for a few 

 days, and the bees seized tbeir chance to rob out a weak colony, and 

 the queen died in another. I also doubled up another weak one, and 

 so reduced my colonies to 43, spring count. 



Yesterday I divided a double colony, which I have been trying on 

 the Alexander plan— a weak colony over a strong one, with an ex- 

 cluder between. It was quite a success. Three weeks ago the top 

 hive had only 2 combs of brood. Yesterday it had 7 frames covered 

 on both sides, and both hives packed with bees. Of course, it lost its 

 field-bees when I took it to another stand. I have another on the 

 same plan, but it is not quite ready to divide yet. 



By the way, what do you usually mean by a comb of brood? 

 Would brood on both sides of the frame be one comb, or two? 



So far I have had only 2 swarms, and I am rather hoping, from 

 the look of thiDgs, that it will not be a year of excessive swarmiDg. 

 The alfalfa is just beginning to bloom, so the bees and bee-keeper are 

 looking forward to a good honey-flow. 



I wish you all success with your own bees. Miss Colorado. 



Delta Co., Colo., June 9. 



Please accept hearty thanks for the pictures you so 

 kindly sent. They are so interesting that they are being 

 lent to the editor in the hopes that they may be available 

 for reproduction, so that the rest of the sisters may enjoy 

 them, too. 



You are to be congratulated on your success with the 

 Alexander plan of strengthening a weak colony. We tried 

 it, and with us it was a failure. Possibly because our bees 

 were hybrids. 



A comb of brood means all that is in one frame, includ- 

 ing both sides of the comb. A frame of brood is the same 

 as a comb of brood, and for short is called " a brood," so 

 when we say a colony has "6 brood," it means it has 6 

 frames fairly well filled with brood ; or, to be a little more 

 definite, that at least half the cells in each frame are filled 

 with brood. 



[We would like very much to use the two pictures of 

 Miss Colorado's apiary, but, unfortunately, they are " blue 

 prints," which do not engrave well. If she can send them 

 to us in usual photographic color, we will be pleased to put 

 them in this department some week. — Editor! 



Honey as a Health-Food. — This is a 16-page honey- 

 pamphlet intended to help increase the demand for honey. 

 The first part of it contains a short article on "Honey as 

 Food,'" written by Dr. C. C. Miller. It tells where to keep 

 honey, how to liquefy it, etc. The last part is devoted to 

 "Honey-Cooking Recipes" and "Remedies Using Honey." 

 It should be widely circulated by those selling honey. The 

 more the people are educated on the value and uses of 

 honey, the more honey they will buy. 



Prices, prepaid — Sample copy for a two-cent stamp; 50 

 copies for 70 cts.; 100 for $1.25; 250 for $2.25; 500 for $4.00; 

 or 1,000 for $7.50. Your business card printed free at the 

 bottom of front page on all orders for 100 or more copies. 

 Send all orders to the office of the American Bee Journal. 



