THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



31 



Siipi)()so, as true of ns at liaiising diirin"' 

 the past season, wo liave an excessive yieUl 

 of lioiiey Ironi the t'lnit blossoms, (huinjj; 

 May. 'I'he workers excr on tlie alert for 

 siidi oimortuiiities, will, in the two weeks 

 of rieli (larvest. fill cvei'y ceil in the hive 

 with the iirecioiis nectai'. AVliat then '.' the 

 ipu'en, like Othello, linds her occupation 

 i>one, for if in the interim between fruit and 

 white clover blossoms, tlu^ comb-builders 

 do i>ly their callinij, which in the general 

 indolence of the hive, is not likely ; still in 

 tlm midst of idleness the ([ueen will not 

 e\en improve such opportunity. So with 

 (dover bloom, wti haxc a depopulated colony 

 all unj^repared to make the most of this, the 

 Uoltlen era of honey .i^atherint^. Wd. even 

 with the fewer bees, insures a repetion of 

 the fruit season exjierience. With a jjood 

 harvest of clover, such as the past season 

 ,i;ave us, coums storin.n' to repletion, and 

 ruinous prosperity a,<;aiu confronts the 

 a|)iarist. From white (dover to basswood, 

 <'ouu>s a repetition of fornu'r exi)eriences, 

 onlv auiimeidcd, of course, so that the long- 

 ed-for period of bassw(»od bloom, linds the 

 a|)iary with depleted colonies, all unpi'cpar- 

 ed to rea]) the ri(di reward which a boun- 

 teous hoiu'y harvest jiresents. ^[ore than 

 this, it never rains, but it pours, as the moth 

 conies to make havoc with colonies too 

 feeble to otfer successful resistance. Xow, 

 If all these seasons of fruitfulness to the 

 bee-keeper have been productive, as during 

 the past siunmer, we go on from bad to 

 worse, a§ we near the period of bn(dvwheat, 

 and golden-rod. And thus Autuuni finds us 

 with feeble colonies, small returns, and 

 long faces, wdien nattne has been uu)st pro- 

 pitious. 



After September we have no gathering, 

 brood-rearing ceases, we ai)i>roach winter 

 with what few bees we have, old, torn and 

 gray with labor, and ere s|)ring, e\en these 

 succumb, and wdiat NNOuder if we sa.y, "bee- 

 keeping is jilayed out." For in just such 

 ways does it far too often beconu> a source 

 of vexation and discoinagenient. 



Now is there no escape from these perils? 

 With the science full in nund we see that if 

 we can only keep the bees sniti)Iied with 

 emnty coud), enabling both worker bees 

 and (pieen to meet their fullest capabilities, 

 and more, can keep the worker bees con- 

 stantly storing, so that the (jueen will be 

 stiunilatcd to her best elforts, evi^n in the 

 int(a1nis of honey secretion, w(! shall meet 

 both the above difliculties, and shall wel- 

 couu; such seasons of infinite honey secre- 

 tion as the past has been, with unalloyed 

 l>lt;asure. Now, thardcs to llerr Ilruscdika, 

 of (Jermany, we are enabled by the use of 

 the honey-extractor, wITudi his invcmtive 

 genius gave us, to accoui[ilish flu; former, 

 and by feeding Hunted sujtplies during 

 the periods of no gathering, using this same 

 extracted honey, should it not find a reuuni- 

 erative nuirket, we meet the second ditlicul- 

 ty. Here, then, in use of the (^xtracdor, and 

 by judifdous feeding, the ajiiarist has power 

 to leap oiu! of the greatest obstacdes ni the 

 way of success. And just liere let me say 

 that 1 fully believe that in tins use we 

 receive the greatest benefits of this indis- 

 ])ensible machine. By its use. during the 

 ))ast summer, we have been made to rejoict; 

 in one of the best honey seasons 1 have (jver 

 known. Those who have not used it, have 

 fallen far behind in the amount of profit 

 received. Early during the past season 



there was an astonishing yield of lioney 

 from the fruit blossoms, so "that we experi- 

 enced a pecularify, new to me, of havinj; 

 our coud)s filled witli this eai'ly hoiu-y. 



Do you ask me then, when I would ex- 

 tract, and when feed ? 



I answer that I would extract whenever 

 it was nec<'ssary to give tlu; (piecu em))ty 

 cells, never allowing all the cidls to be filled 

 with honey and brood. Whether I would 

 use it at other times, would depend on tlio 

 market for extracted honey. If I could 

 find ready sale for sn(di honey at 15 cents 

 l)er pound. 1 should extract a good deal at 

 other tiuu's. especially in the fall, as it is 

 valuable to have empty cond)s in tlie spring 

 as by their use we can most easily ootaiii 

 non-swarming hives. 



I would feed siiarjngl.v, obliging the bees 

 to carry the hone> into ilie hixc fi'om ^rarcli 

 till October, whenever the bees were gather- 

 ing no honey. Do .you urge the trouble and 

 labor involved '.' Let me assun^ you it will 

 prove the most renumerative, expended in 

 your a])iary. 



Very likely some of you will desire to 

 know where to obtain the best extractor, 

 and bow to feed in the most convenient 

 manner. 



So far as I know, there is no better ex- 

 tractor made than one sold by A. I. Hoot & 

 Co., Medina, Ohio, for 610, or made to fit 

 his standard frame whicli is lli-4xi:5%— .?!>. 

 Just the gearing, 1 think, can be procured 

 for $3, in which case, each of us can finish 

 to suit liimself. 



As to feeding, if we have a close chamber 

 above the brood chand>er, all we need to 

 feed is a common tin or wooden box, with a 

 bottom of coarse cotton cloth. Setting the 

 box over a hole the same size in the (pult or 

 honey board, the be<'s will come up and sip 

 the sweets as they oo/.e through. 



Cloth liags nailed to tlu^ top bar of a frame 

 whicli has a lobe through it and placed in 

 the hive in lieu of one of the frames of the 

 comb, as reconnnened by "Novice," will be 

 cheap, convenient, and easily set asidn 

 when not needed. 



EVENIXO SESSIOX. 



Tlie first topic, "Feeding,— How, When, 

 and Why," was introduced by a paper from 

 Prof. A. J. Cook, of the Agricultural College, 

 favoring stimulative feeding, in times of: 

 scarcity, to promote breeding ; also of th(3 

 value of the extractor in times of great hon- 

 ey secretion. Tiic subject was discussed as 

 follows : 



T. F. Bingham— Did the bees store from 

 apjde blossoms to excdude the (lueen ? 



Prof. Cook — They did. 



T. F. Bingham— bid you have forage from 

 earlier sources ? 



Prof. Cook— Yes. 



T. F. Bingham— At that time of the year 

 (last of May) the hive should be full of 

 brood. 



C. I. Balch— In times ofscandtyof forage, 

 uncapping the honey in the liive will pro- 

 mote breeding. 



T, F. Bingham — You nughtjust as well 

 feed chips to induce brood rearing as honey. 

 If bees are gathering pollen, as tli(>y usually 

 are in warm weather, and have honey in th(! 

 luve, the brood will \h', abundant. Feeding 

 for this purpose is uscdess. ]{ees have littU3 

 discretion — man should have it for them. 



Prof, ("ook— My bees would not breed 

 when gathering pollen and no honey, and 

 my queens were "yellow," too. 



