1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



809 



is not good form to eat honey at table, except about as much 

 as one might politely eat of butter. This pestilent idea rules 

 with such an iron sceuter that few of us would dare to break 

 over at a friend's table— certainly not I. Where is the table 

 in this whole land at which honey is regarded as a thing lo be 

 sailed into for all one's appetite calls for, like bread or pota- 

 toes ? I somewhat suspect that it ought to rank with bread 

 and potato. Bee-keepers themselves bolster up the homeo- 

 pathic style of eating by preferring to offer honey for sale in 

 very small amounts or packages, and by the inflated prices 

 put upon these little morsels. It is as if butter were generally 

 offered for sale in one-ounce rolls, at 5 cents a roll. Let's 

 think of the matter, whether we cannot by an alltogether 

 effort set honey where butter used to stand in ancient times 

 (see Judges 5:25), as a food to be eaten freely and alone." 



It's a good thing to laXk honey, as well as to eat it. But 

 you'll find that the "eat" will quite naturally follow the 

 "talk" — on the part of the other fellow. If bee-keepers 

 would constantly carry a few copies of the pamphlet, " Honey 

 as Food," and hand it to their friends or acquaintances, or 

 even strangers, we think they would be surprised at the in- 

 terest it will create in honey, and how soon its readers will 

 want some. We know whereof we speak, for we have tried, 

 and are trying, that pamphlet right here in Chicago. It does 

 the work. 



Tl?c Weekly Budget. 



Hon. Eugene Secor, the General Manager of the United 

 States Bee-Keepers' Union, attended the annual meeting of 

 the Iowa State Horticultural Society last week. Mr. Secor is 

 a very busy man — the kind that accomplishes something. 



Mr. R. H. Jones, of St. Louis Co., Mo., wrote us as fol- 

 lows, Dec. lU : 



"I would not be without the American Bee Journal if I 

 had to forego enough dinners to pay for the subscription." 



Prof. A. J. Cook, wrote us, Dec. 7, that the California 

 State Bee-Keepers' Association is to meet in Los Angeles Jan. 

 10, 1898. It is expected that Mr. Thos. Wm. Cowan, editor 

 of the British Bee Journal, will be present. That will be a 

 grand meeting. Californians should turn out and give our 

 illustrious English friend a royal reception. 



Mr. F. L. Wright, of Livingston Co., Mich., was called 

 upon to pass through a severe affliction the past fall. His 

 little daughter (bis only one) was burned to death while alone. 

 It was supposed her clothing caught fire from the kitchen 

 stove as she was passing it. Mr. Wright says of her: " Her 

 short life was all sunshine — not a cloud ever seemed to mar 

 her pleasure." It i.s hard to give up the little ones, but how 

 blessed it is that we mourn not as those who have no hope of 

 an eternal meeting again, some sweet day. 



Mk. N. E. France, State Inspector of Apiaries for Wis- 

 consin, living in Grant county, wrote us Dec. % : 



"This morning, at 3:40 o'clock, one of the powder mills 

 (one-fourth mile away) exploded, containing a little over 

 10,000 pounds of powder. Fortunately no one was hurt, tho 

 several buildings were wreckt. Our loss was very light. 

 The jar was felt many miles. One friend of mine, and bee- 

 keeper, E. M. Johnson, nearly 90 miles away, wrote me he 

 felt the jar, and report." 



The EnssKLi. Co, Bee-Keepers' Association, of Ontario, 

 Canada, has been giving its members the American Bee 

 .Tournal as.a premium, and when renewing the subscriptions 

 for 1898, recently, the Secretary, Mr. G. G. Shirreff, says 

 this : 



"The American Bee Journal is very popalar with the 

 members of our Association." 



We are pleased to hear this, and would suggest that it 

 be a good thing if all bee-keepers, associations would do as 

 does the above and several others across our northern bor- 

 ber-line. We shall continue lo do our best to make the Amer- 

 ican Bee Journal more popular than ever, as the months and 

 years come on. It is a great encouragement to us to know 

 that our efforts are being appreciated. 



CONDUCTED BY 



DR. C. O. MXLLER, OtAXENGO, ILL,. 



[(Questions may be mailed to the Bee Journal, or to Dr. Miller dlrect.l 



Bees Packt in Flax Straw. 



I packt my bees in flax straw. Is It all right? I had no 

 outside cases, and put the straw over them, all but the front. 

 The bees are on the summer stands. Indiana. 



Answer. — If not packt too solid, and if kept dry, flax 

 straw will probably be all right. 



-^ — • — ^ — 



Bccg Prepared for Winter. 



I took my bees from the summer stands Nov. 10. I 

 laid boards on the ground, and set the bees on them, all in a 

 row, facing southeast, and covered the hives with excelsior. 

 I put a box over all, then put some felt cloth that had two or 

 three coats of asphalt on it, on top of the box. The honey in 

 each hive will average from -iO to 60 pounds. They are 10- 

 frame hives. What is your opinion of the way I have my 

 bees prepared for winter ? Illinois. 



Answer. — You say nothing about the entrances. If they 

 are all covered up, of course it won't do at all. There must 

 be free entrance and plenty of room for what air is needed. 

 And it might not be amiss to put a board up before the 

 entrance so the sun cannot shine in and entice the bees out to 

 fall upon the soft snow. Aside from this, your arrangement 

 seems to be such as will keep dry and warm, and so ought to 

 be all right. 



Queen Dead on Ali&liling-Board. 



On Dec. 5 I noticed on the alighting-board of one of my 

 hives a queen that was dead. She must have just been 

 dragged out of the hive, and as it was very cold, I suppose the 

 bees could get no further with her. She had only one wing 

 (which I know I never removed) and was very dark in color. 

 I know this queeu to be four years old. Will not the colony 

 go to destruction, if the queen has not been superseded some 

 time ago, or in warm weather ? It is too cold here at present 

 to open the hive to see what is going on, but if I find upon 

 examination they have no queen, do you think I could wait 

 until early spring, procure a queen, and introduce her. The 

 colony is strong. Cincinnati. 



Answer. — Like as not the colony has a queen all right. 

 In any case, the best thing is to let them alone till spring, and 

 as they are strong they will be worth supplying with a queen 

 should they prove to be queenless. Don't bet; it isn't right lo 

 bet; but if the law compels you to bet on those bees, you bet 



they're all right. 



m I ^ — ■ 



Hive Ventilation in Summer -Untested Queens. 



1. Would it be to any advantage in the hot season to have 

 about three one-inch holes in the rear end of the hive, and 

 about three inches down from the top of the frames, and wire- 

 cloth tackt over the holes on the inside, thus giving the bees a 

 current of air? 



2. Are untested queens fertilized or mated before sending 

 away ? Iowa. 



Answers. — 1. It wouldn't be any advantage for any 

 length of time, for the bees would soon cover the wirecloth 

 with glue. But there would probably be no need of the wire- 

 cloth, for if those holes were not opened till the really hot 

 weather came at the time of putting on supers, the bees 

 would already be so accustomed to the front entrance that 

 they would never use these holes as entrances. At any rate 

 my bees never used as entrances the space I formerly left 

 them at the back end between the hive and the super. There 



