284 



AMERICAN BEE lOURNAl. 



May 1, 1902. 



the road I found myself with a yard of fully 

 100 colonies of bees. For a few years I found 

 it more profitable to hire a man for some three 

 months in the early summer than jb give up 

 my business: but last summer, although 70 

 years of age. I did the work myself (my part- 

 ner, nearly as old as myself, helping me a lit- 

 tle in the extracting-room). and I attended 

 to the Division Court business of the town- 

 ship, of which Court I am the clerk; did 

 considerable insurance business and convey- 

 ancing, as well as keeping up the sale of sew- 

 ing machines and musical instruments. Not 

 so bad for an old man, is it ; especially as the 

 crop of honey last season was somewhat large, 

 running up to fully 10.000 pounds. X have 

 only had one season of larger returns since 

 keeping bees, and that was in 1S99, when it 

 ran up to fully 11,000 pounds, averaging 

 about 120 pounds per colony. Last year the 

 average would be about 110 pounds. My 

 greatest average in any one year was 125 

 pounds per colony. 



" I use the Richardson hive, mostly those 

 made with bevelled joints and sun caps, and 

 don't have to keep the covers on with stones. 

 My yard, as will be noticed, is rather con- 

 tracted for such a large number of colonies, 

 being only about 60x70 feet, the rest of the 

 ground being taken up with buildings and 

 garden. The small building to the right is 

 the extracting-room, size 10x14. 



"My bees are usually very cross, last year 

 particularly so. and this, in the judgment of 

 practical bee-keepers, was probably due to the 

 congested state of the yard. This I intend to 

 overcome by removing about one-fourth of 

 them to an out-yard this season. It may be 

 possible that if I were to devote my whole 

 time to it I might make a greater success of it, 

 but I find that my winter losses are not 

 greater than of those who devote their whole 

 time to them, and my average yield of houey 

 per colony is about as good as that of the 

 specialist. 



'• I might mention that at the time the pho- 

 tograph was taken I was in the yard taking 

 out combs for extracting. A. Boomer." 



F.iRMERs' Natiouai, CONGRESS.— It Isquitc 

 probable that farmers generally do not fully 

 realize the scope and extent of the Farmers' 

 National Congress, as otherwise they would 

 take a much deeper interest in it. The topics 

 discussed a'Te more particularly those of a 

 national or international character, quite dif- 

 ferent from what is generally on the program 

 at farmers' institutes. The following is a 

 copy of the program tor the 1903 meeting : 



1. Interoceanic canal. 



2. National irrigation. 



3. Reciprocity— how may it affect agricul- 

 tural interests t 



4. Effect of present insular ]>ossessious on 

 the agriculture of the United States. 



h. Preservation of forest and fruit trees and 

 reforestation. 



ti. Injurious insects, insect pests and fungi. 



7. What part of a man's farm does he sell 

 when he sells the crop 1 



s. Postal reforms particularly affecting the 

 farmer. 



11. Mutual relations of Northern and South- 

 ern farmers. 



10. Dairy interests of the United States as 

 related to the markets of the world. 



11. Farm products other than dairy prod- 

 ucts in the markets of the world. 



12. The labor problem from the farmer's 

 standpoint. 



13. How can we best build up our mer- 

 chant marine ; 



The Farmers' National Congress is made up 

 of delegates and associate delegates appointed 

 by the governors of each State. Every gov- 

 ernor appoints as many delegates as the State 

 has representatives in both houses of Con- 

 gress, and as many associate delegates as he 

 chooses. 



The meeting will be held at Macon, (ia., 



Tu mufee cows pay. use SharpU^s t^reara Separalorw. 

 Book Bu8ines8Dalrying&Cat.2I-j tree. W.Cliesler.Pa 



Headquarters 



-FOR- 



Beekeepers 

 SuDDlies 



Root's 



Goods at 



Root's 



Factory 



Prices 



Distributor of same for THE SOUTH, TEN- 

 NESSEE, KENTUCKY, WEST VIR- 

 GINIA, ILLINOIS and OHIO. 



Complete stock for 1902 now on hand. 



The freights from Cincinnati are the 

 lowest. 



Prompt service is what I practice. Sat- 

 isfaction guaranteed. 



Catalog mailed free — send for same. 



The Standard Honey-Jars, Langstroth 

 Hives, etc., at lowest prices. 



You will save money by buying from me. 



Orders taken for Queens— Golden Italians, 

 Red Clover Oueens. and Carniolans. 

 For prices I refer you to my catalog. 



C. H. W. WEBER, 



2146-2148 Central Ave., CINCINNATI, OHIO. 

 Successor to Chas. F.Muth & Son and A. Muth. 

 Please mention Bee Journal when writing. 



WE ONLY CLAIM 



for PAGE FENCE that it i3 more practical and 

 economical and that it lasts the longest. 

 PA(JK«()VK,N HlUK KKXK CO., A 1>I{I AS, JIlCll. 



Tenne ssee Q ueens 



Daug-hters of Select Imported 

 Italian, Select long-tonyued 

 (Moore's], aad Select, Straight 

 5-band Queeus. Bred 2% miles 

 apart, aad mated to select 

 drones. No bees owned witb- 

 in 2% railes; uone impure 

 within 3, and but few within 

 Smiles. No disease. 2^ vears' 

 experience. WARRANTED 

 OUEENS, 75 cents each; 

 TESTED, $1.50 each. Dis- 

 count on large orders. 200 

 tested reared last season ready 

 to-day Contracts with deal- 

 ers a specialty. Discount after July 1st. Send 

 for circular. _ 



JOHN M. DAVIS, 



14A26t SPRING HILL, TENN. 



Please mention Bee Journal wJ.eo wntiui? 



NucleusColonies, Queens, Strawberry 



Plants. American Uee Journal and Tested 

 Queen, $1.50. Circular free. 



J. F. MICHAEL, 



14A4t R. R. 6, WINCHESTER. IND. 



Bees For Sale. 



Two, 3 or 4 frame Nuclei— cheap, (lood Queens. 

 l!<A2t G. W. GATES, Bartlett, Tenn. 



$300,000,000.00 A YEAR 



j.nil \..ii ni;i\ h.i-. -■ j,;irl Mf it iT y-.ii wi.rk 

 |■..ru^. liirlr S.iin .-. pntiltr\ pn.Uin-t li;i\s 

 (liiit siiin, SiMHl Idr' t(.r ^jiiniilr^ arnl piUlK' 

 ijliirs. \V.' 111! [ii,-.li ■■(tpit"' '" ■'^'■""" >"" '" 



businu^^. Draper FublishiagCo..Cbicago,lll. 



1902— Bee-Keepers* SuupliesI 



We can famish you with The A. 1. Runt Go's 

 goods at wholesale or retail at their prices. We can 

 save you freiKht, and ship promptly. Market price 

 paid tor beeswax. Send tor our 1901; catalog. 

 M. U. HUNT & SON. Bell Branch, Wayne Co., Mich 



Oct. 7-10, and the people of that city will give 

 a hearty welcome to all who attend. 



The Southeastern Passenger Association has 

 granted a rate of one fare for round trip ; and 

 there is a fair indication that the other pas- 

 senger associations will malie better than an 

 excursion rate. 



The men who will be invited to take part in 

 the program will be the choicest that can be 

 selected, and each one will be an acknowl- 

 edged leader in his line. Isn't it about time 

 the farmers took a practical hand in helping 

 to solve the problems that pertain to their 

 own affairs ! 



We hope to have at least 1000 delegates,- 

 assoeiate delegates and visitors. 



.John M. Stahl, 4328 Langley Ave.. Chicago, 

 111., is secretary, and will gladly answer any 

 correspondence for the Congress. 



J. H. Reynolds, Treas. 





Light Honey-Yield Expected. 



Our rains came very early in this locality, 

 and then a long, dry spell. Flowers started 

 to bloom and then dried up. Then in March 

 we had some good rains, which will insure 

 good farm crops. But I fear Southern Cali- 

 fornia is " not in it " for a honey crop. My 

 judgment, based on 20 years' experience, 

 makes me think the yield will be light. 



Delos Wood. 



Santa Barbara Co., Calif. 



Rather Bad Spring for Bees. 



The spring has been rather bad for bees; 

 but to-day the thermometer has made a jump, 

 and at noon it stands at S3 degrees in the 

 shade. I did not suppose it had been warm 

 enough to bring out dandelions, but they are 

 out in considerable number to-day. Unless, 

 however, we soon get rain all vegetation will 

 suffer beyond repair. 



I seem to be stealing some other man's 

 thunder on page 24.5. All that is credited to 

 Dr. Miller- on the second half of the page 

 should be credited to some one else. 



C. C. Miller. 



McHenry Co., 111., April 21. 



[That seems to be an error of the shorthand 

 reporter. It is Impossible to correct it now. — 

 Editor.] 



Packing Bees for Winter. 



<.)n page 23S, Mr. Turner Buswell, in refer- 

 ring to my statement as to how I winter my 

 bees, asks; 



" How many inches of planer-shavings are 

 put next to the carpet ' and why a layer of 

 tine sawdust V 



In regard to the layer of shavings directly 

 over the brood-nest, I was misunderstood, as I 

 do not put any planer-shavings directly over 

 the quilt covering the frames, but pack under- 

 neath and all around the hive up to within 

 about 2 inches of the top of the hive, with the 

 shavings, then I put on line, dry sawdust, and 

 extend about 2 inchcb above the hive; then 

 put on 8 or more inches of the planer-shavings. 



The reason I put the line sawdust just over 

 the brood-nest is for the same reason that one 

 puts tine woolen blankets on the bed in win- 

 ter, or the Hnest underwear next to the body, 

 I. (., to retain the heat. 



The planer-shavings are next applied in 

 greater depth to keep out the extreme cold. 

 Whether the sawdust alone would be just as 

 good I can not say, but I do know that the 

 shavings, which form numerous little dead- 

 air spaces, are all right. 



One year ago this winter the packing was 

 given a good test when fully 75 percent of 



