^1861 





42dYEAR. 



CHICAGO, ILL, NOV. 6, 1902, 



Na45. 



^ Editorial Comments. 



" Our Bee-Keeping Sisters " is the heading of a new 

 department that we begin in this number of the Bee Jour- 

 nal. It is conducted by Miss Emma M. Wilson, a lady bee- 

 keeper of long and varied experience, and one who knows 

 how to express on paper, in a clear and interesting manner, 

 the results of her years of work in the apiary. We are cer- 

 tain our readers of the feminine persuasion will be pleased 

 to read the new department, and will also be glad to accept 

 Miss Wilson's invitation to send to her anything they can 

 that may be helpful to the other sisters in their work with 

 bees. 



" Our Bee-Keeping Sisters " is to be a department that 

 the sisters can have all to themselves. Of course, it is to be 

 expected that occasionally a man may try to break into it, 

 but he will not likely repeat the attempt. 



Care of Extracting=Coinbs.— In this country it seems 

 to be the general opinion that it is better to have the honey 

 entirely cleaned out of extracting-combs when the season 

 is over. Even a small trace of honey left in a cell, if left 

 there to granulate, will encourage granulation in the honey 

 that is stored there the following season. It is not too late 

 yet to leave such combs exposed so that the bees will rob 

 them out some warm day. No special care need be taken 

 in the North against the work of the moth in extracting- 

 combs. The weather is too cold for their development, and 

 all that is needed is to leave them throughout the winter 

 where they will have the full benefit of severe freezing, 

 which destroys both the larvK and the eggs of the moth. 



Feeding Weak Colonies First. — W. L. Davey reports 

 in the Australian Bee-Bulletin some experience in feeding 

 that is suggestive. He fed in a time of scarcity, treating 

 all colonies alike, whether weak or strong. A mania for 

 robbing was started, " with the result that the longer the 

 colonies were fed the greater were the losses from star- 

 vation caused by robber-bees." 



The philosophy of the matter is not given by Mr. Davey 

 minutely, but it is not difficult to understand. The giving 

 of feed produces two effects : It excites bees to start out 

 after other stores in the most eager manner, making them 

 fiercely attack any weaker colonies that may be found ; it is 

 also true that when a lavish supply of feed is in the hive 

 the bees are not as carefully on the defensive, and in many 

 cases will make no resistance to robbers, even though the 

 colonies thus fed may be very strong. So it is no great 

 wonder that the continuance of feeding in a bad time re- 

 sulted in mueh robbing. 



Made wiser by this experience, his next feeding was on 

 a different plan, being entirely successful, and is given in 

 full as follows : 



The feed in this case was cheap honey, brought to the 

 boiling point and then emptied into four gallons of boiling 

 water and allowed to boil for about 10 minutes. This was 

 drained off into the extractor, and a 70-pound bag of the 

 best sugar was boiled in six gallons of water. This was 

 then run into the extractor, and the contents of the extractor 

 were then cluirned by revolving the extractor machinery. 

 This blend of honey, sugar and water, was exactly like new 

 nectar. 



After blending up 90 gallons of syrup, it was taken IS 

 miles to the out-apiary, where 30 strong colonies and 24 of 

 weaker strength had to be fed. The collecting and filling 

 of 100 drawn combs with 4 pounds each of syrup occupied 

 until midnight. These were distributed amongst the weak- 

 est colonies before daybreak, with the result that these 

 weaker colonies had lost that madness that usually draws 

 the robbers to them, and instead they were on the offensive; 

 eager for more, they tackled the stronger colonies. 



Now these strong colonies were given 2'i gallons down 

 to one gallon of feed, in a vessel made of the half of a kero- 

 sene tin, with about two inches of straw placed on top of 

 the syrup to prevent the drowning of bees, and the feed was 

 then placed on top of the brood-chamber and covered by an 

 empty super-lid, etc. This second stage of the feeding was 

 done as soon after the daylight as possible (should be done 

 during the night if possible). 



He found, after leaving them for a fortnight, that the 

 artificial nectar had been capped over. The strong colonies 

 had completed their task, no robbing had taken place, no 

 bees, so to speak, had been killed in battle, the weak colo- 

 nies, being the aggressors, were in a mood to look after their 

 home, and the strong colonies were too strong to be affected 

 by the weaker. 



Alley's System of Queen=Rearing is strongly cham- 

 pioned in the American Bee-Keeper by Arthur C. Miller as 

 the best, and he say s that Mr. Alley is testing some changes 

 not yet made public. L- Stachelhausen also uses the Alley 

 plan and has less trouble than the cell-cup plan. There is no 

 doubt that good queens can be reared by either method. 

 The small frames used in nuclei do not necessarily form a 

 part of either plan, but not all will agree with the first part 

 of his statement when he saj's : "As fine queens as any 

 one should desire can be reared with a cupful of bees, and 

 as poor queens as ever lived maybe produced by a bushel 

 of bees." Unless he means that the cells are to be first 

 reared in a strong colony. 



Alfalfa in Illinois. — An interesting article in the Orange 



Judd Farmer is in part as follows : 



Farmers who have tried to grow alfalfa in Illinois have 

 met with somewhat indifferent success. Theoretically, the 

 soil ought to produce large crops. The Illinois Experiment 

 Station, several years ago, began a series of experiments 

 to determine what was lacking. Alfalfa was grown in pots 

 and treated in various wa_vs. A little later field experiments 

 in 25 different sections of the State were inaugurated. The 

 results of these tests, published in Bulletin 76, indicate that 

 alfalfa can be successfully' grown if the soil is infected with 

 the bacteria which are found in tubercles on the roots of 

 the alfalfa. If these are not present the soil must be ex- 

 ceedingly rich, and receive a liberal applicatiou of bamj-ard 

 manure or nitrogenous fertilizers. Even the rich, black 

 soil of Illinois does not furnish sufficient available nitrogen 

 to produce profitable crops of alfalfa. 



In some sections of the State alfalfa has been grown 



