Aug. 30, 1906 



739 



American Ttee Journal 



hot days here, the thermometer keeping un- 

 comfortably near 100 degrees (98 above zero 

 the day I'm writing this) ; but the bees have 

 a way of controlling the heat in the hive, so 

 that in the brood-nest the temperature is 

 much the same whether the outer air is 50 or 

 100. Yet before the days of wiring I've had 

 combs melt down in shade so dense that the 

 sun never shone on the hives, the dense shade 

 preventing ventilation. 



The drone-combat the lower corners hardly 

 comes from sagging, for you will readily see 

 that at the lower corners the tension would 

 be the same in a frame 2 inches deep as in 

 one 12 inches deep. It is more likely that the 

 drone-comb is built in the space at the cor- 

 ners that the foundation does not fill. Still, 

 if the foundation should sag enough at the 

 upper part to allow the lower part to strike 

 the bottom-bar and double over, the bees 

 would have a fair chance to build drone-cells 

 on the convex surface — a chance they would 

 be pretty likely to improve. With founda- 

 tion splints this could not happen. 



The question as to just how much drone- 

 comb would satisfy a colony is not an easy 

 one to answer. Under certain conditions a 

 colony might build 20 percent of its comb 

 with cells of drone size, whereas the same 

 colony might not build a cell of drone-comb 

 if its frames were filled with worker founda- 

 tion. I have been in the habit of filling my 

 frames entirely full of worker foundation, 

 and whether the bees were satisfied or not I 

 do not know; but I do know that they have 

 built no drone-comb in such frames. 



I question whether there would be any gain 

 in fastening the splints to the top-bar. Mine 

 are not so fastened, and I have never seen the 

 slightest tendency to pulling down. 



I'm not sure what you would expect to gain 

 by using metal splints. Jt would be much 

 the same as using wire, and unless the metal 

 should be pretty heavy it would not have as 

 much stiffness as the wood. 



Heports and 

 experiences 



Poof Honey Season— Drouth 



This has been a poor honey season. My 

 colonies were very strong and they gathered 

 quite a great deal of honey. We have had 

 very little rain since early in June. It is the 

 worst drouth 1 ever knew. John King. 



Smith's Creek, N. B., Aug. 18. 



Not Over Half a Crop 



I brought to Washington 4 colonies of bees 

 from Minnesota the fall of 1903. In 1901 they 

 averaged about 70 pounds of honey per col- 

 ony; last year about 90 pounds, while this 

 year we will not get over half a crop, as the 

 honey season is practically ended. We are 

 not troubled with swarming, for in 3 sum- 

 mers we have had only about 30 swarms alto- 

 gether, with from 70 to 100 colonies in the 

 yard. Chas. W. Sager. 



Belma, Wash., Aug. 9. 



Light Honey Crop 



Bees were on the point of starving the latter 

 part of June, owing to too much rain. The 

 honey crop therefore was light. There will 

 be no fall flow to speak of. 



John J. Peters. 



Granite Falls, Wash., Aug. 9. 



showed itself, which was followed by sumac, 

 with a very long season. Now buckwheat is 

 blooming, and the bees are working on it the 

 second time in 15 years. The crop is first- 

 class so far. The asters will be coming on 

 within a week, and they usually yield well. 

 That will finish the honey season. 



South Salem, N. Y. T. H. Keeler. 



Getting Comb and Extracted Honey 

 from the Same Colony 



I have been somewhat interested in the 

 paper read by Mr. Jas. A. Green before the 

 National Bee-Keepers' Convention, and the 

 discussion following it. His plan is one 

 stumbled on by me a few years ago, and I am 

 better satisfied the longer I use it, and it is 

 the only one I succeeded in getting any 

 honey from the last 2 year6, and that was ex- 

 tracted. It is a consolation to find a spe- 

 cialist has been using it for years. I have 

 been using 5-inch extracting and 430-inch 

 section supers promiscuously for 3 years, put- 

 ting the first on as soon as the bees seemed to 

 need them, and the latter later under them. 

 Two years ago the honey was of such a char- 

 acter that it was not worth putting into sec- 

 tions— honey-dew, and not fit for table use. 



Last year was another poor year, but the 

 honey was of fair quality. The result was a 

 few finished sections, but many unfinished, 

 and many more unfinished or not commenced. 

 This year, so far, I have twice as much as I 

 got the two previous years, and if the flow 

 does not stop too suddenly I think I shall get 

 most of my sections finished, and finish up 

 with extracting-frames ; and if not ripened I 

 will extract and feed back. But the trouble 

 is to know when the flow is going to 6top. I 

 have been puzzled to know where they were 

 getting their honey for the last month, 

 though I have done my best to find out. If 

 Mr. Dadant's oak theory does not 60lve it, it 

 is still a mystery with me. I have examined 

 the oak, but have found no indications of 

 honey there. Perhaps the time for that is 

 pa6t. The white clover was abundant and 

 they went to work on it, but soon quit it. 

 The basswood is now in bloom, but they don't 

 seem to be going for it very strongly. It did 

 not seem to increase their working force 

 much. 



Dr. Miller doe6 not get more unfinished 

 sections than he wants for the next year for 

 starters. I don't know how he keeps them 

 from candying. I have had but little swarm- 

 ing, and one case out of the ordinary. I have 

 my queens' wings clipped, and when the swarm 

 came out I found the queen dead, and sup- 

 posed she was killed in the swarming. I 

 looked for them to 6warm again (the swarm 

 had gone back), but the next day they came 

 out with a queen, alighted, and I hived them. 

 I would like to have Dr. Miller's diagnosis of 

 the case. Is it a case of supersedure? 



Three years ago bees were starving between 

 fruit-bloom and white clover, yet it was the 

 best honey year we ever had, and we got 

 nearly as much honey after basswood as be- 

 fore. So we see it is hard to predict the 

 future. The unexpected is likely to happen 

 at any time. J- C. Armstrong. 



Marshalltown, Iowa, July 9. 



CONVENTION NOTICES. 



Bee-Season All Right 



I have no fault to find with the bee-season 

 this year, as it is the best here since 1897. We 

 had honey from fruit-bloom, but skipped 

 clover on account of rain, and basswood 



The Southern Bee-Keepers' Association 

 will meet in Atlanta, Ga., Oct. 11 and 12, 1906. 

 during the State Fair, on the Fair Grounds. 

 All interested are invited to attend. 



Judson Heard, Sec. and Treas. 



J. J. Wilder, Pres. 



National in Texas. — The National Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will hold its annual con- 

 vention Nov. 8. 9, and 10, 1906, in San Anto- 

 nio, Texas. These dates occur at a time when 

 the Texas Fair is in progress, and low rates 

 will be in force, locally, for several hundreds 

 of miles out of San Antonio, and, at the same 

 time, there will be home-seekers' rates avail- 

 able from other Darts of the country. 



Flint, Mich. " W. Z. Hutceinson, Sec. 



The "Western Illinois Bee-Keepers' As- 

 sociation will meet at the Court House 

 (County Court room) at Galesburg, 111., 

 Thursday, Sept. 20, 1906. We have had such 

 a very poor honey year that many are dis- 

 couraged, but remember we have all the more 

 need for a good, lively convention. The dry 

 year of 1901 was followed by two exception- 

 ally good years for bee-keepers. None of us 

 was ready for them. Let's get all the infor- 

 mation we can, and get ready for the good 

 years that are coming. Messrs. C.P. Dadant, 

 George W. York and J. Q. Smith have prom- 

 ised to be with us. and you wlil all be made 

 welcome if you come. Don't miss this con- 

 vention. Come and bring your wives with 

 you. Meeting begins at 9 a.m. and lasts all 

 day. J. E. Johnson, Pres. 



E. D. Woods, Sec. 



Missouri.— The annual meeting of the 

 Missouri State Bee-Keepers' Association will 

 be held at the Circuit Court Room at Mar- 

 shall, Mo., Oct. 2 and 3, 1906. All bee-keep- 

 ers are invited to attend and to join the Asso- 

 ciation. This is going to be an important 

 meeting, as steps in preparing for the can- 

 vass of the State in the interest of the foul- 

 brood bill to be brought 'before our Legisla- 

 ture at its session next January are to be con- 

 sidered. Elaborate preparations are being 

 made by the Saline County Bee-Keepers' Club 

 for the reception of bee-keepers, and badges 

 are being prepared, and will be sent to all 

 those applying for them to the undersigned 

 Secretary, or to Mr. M. E. Tribble, at Marshall, 

 Mo., Secretary of the Saline County Bee- 

 Keepers' Club, to facilitate the reception 

 committee in taking care of the bee-keepers 

 on arrival of the trains. Hotel accommoda- 

 tions can be obtained at reasonable rates, or 

 board and lodging can be secured at 50 or 75 

 cents per day at private boarding houses, for 

 those who will write to Mr. Tribble, asking 

 him to arrange for them. There are over 

 41.000 bee-keepers in Missouri. Let there be 

 1000 of them at Marshall, Oct. 2 and 3. 



Robert A. Holekamp, Sec. 



4263 Virginia St., St. Louis, Mo. 



Choi ce Que ens 



Caucasians — Untested, 75c; Tested, $1.00. 

 Italians and Carniolans — Untested, 60c; 

 Tested, 75c. A postal card will bring my cir- 

 cular and full price-list for 1906. 



CHAS. KOEPPEN, 



26A13t FREDERICKSBURG, VA. 



Mention Bee Journal when writing. 



05C lot 12 Naiil6S ^"farmers and'lo'c- 

 t-tampa taken— we will send for 2 yrs. the Farmer's 

 Call— reg. sub. price 40c a year. F. C. is a wkly., 25 

 years old. 1,300 pages a year. Sample free. 



FARMER'S CALL. QuiDCy.Ill. 



Queen-Button for Bee-Folks 



This is a very pretty thing 

 for a bee-keeper or honey- 

 seller to wear on his coat- 

 lapel. It often serves to in- 

 troduce the subject of honey, 

 and frequently leads to a 

 sale. 

 The picture shown here- 

 with is a reproduction of a motto queen-button 

 that we are furnishing to bee-keepers. It has 

 a pin on the underside to fasten it. Price, by 

 mail, 6 cent6 ; two for 10c ; or six for 25c. The 

 American Bee Journal one year and 4 buttons 

 for $1.10. Address all orders to 



OEORQE W. YORK & CO. 

 334 Dearborn Street, - CHICAGO, ILL. 



« It is continuous advertising 

 that impresses the public 

 with the stability of a firm." 



