744 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Nov. 20. 1902. 



me quote a page among the many, a gem among the gems, 

 his admiration of the energy of the worker-bee : 



" Why do they thus renounce sleep, the delights of 

 honey and love the exquisite leisure enjoyed, for instance, 

 by their winged brother, the butterfly ? Why will they not 

 live as he lives ? It is not hunger that urges them on. Two 

 or three flowers suffice for their nourishment, and in one 

 hour they will visit two or three hundred, to collect a treas- 

 ure whose sweetness they never will taste. Why all this 

 toil and distress, and whence comes this mighty assurance ? 

 Is it so certain, then, that the new generation whereunto 

 you off^er your lives will merit the sacrifice ; will be more 

 beautiful, happier, will do something you have not done ? 

 Your aim is clear to us, clearer than our own ; you desire to 

 live, as long as the world itself, in those that come after ; 

 but what can the aim be of this great aim, what the mission 

 of this existence eternally renewed ? " 



Perhaps Mr. Gale cannot see any literary beauty in 

 such passages. Perhaps, when he reads of bees, he expects 

 only to be told which is the best hive or the best manner of 

 harvesting surplus. Perhaps, also, he has not read Maeter- 

 linck very carefully, for he misquotes him. For instance, 

 he quotes him as saying, " The nurse-bees feed nine or ten 

 thousand eggs, the eighteen thousand larva; and the thirty- 

 six thousand nymphs." Opening the book at the incrimi- 

 nated passage I read : " For this is the royal domain of the 

 brood-cells, set apart for the queen and her acolytes ; about 

 10,000 cells wherein the eggs repose, 15,000 to 16,000 cham- 

 bers tenanted by larvse, 40,000 dwellings inhabited by white 

 nymphs to whom thousands of nurses minister." 



I read Maeterlinck in the original French when it wa^ 

 first published ; I have since procured the English trans- 

 lation, and I have this to say to the readers of the American 

 Bee Journal : If you wish a text-book on bee-culture, do not 

 buy Maeterlinck's. If you wish a practical work giving cuts 

 and descriptions of bee implements, you will find nothing 

 of the kind in his " Life of the Bee." 



Neither will you find in it anything ludricrous or comi- 

 cal. But if you wish to pass a few pleasant hours ; if you 

 can enjoy a little poetical prose, on a subject which is fami- 

 liar to you, send for " The Life of the Bee." Any person, 

 whether bee-keeper, banker, laborer, farmer, or school 

 teacher, even if he were unable to know a bee from a hornet, 

 can profitably and enjoyably read this book. 



Hancock Co., 111. 



\ Our Bee-HeeDin^ Sisters ^ 



Conducted by EMMA M, WILSON, 

 Sug-g-estions for the Cool Months. 



After the honey is sold, and the bees ready for winter, 

 there naturally comes a little lull, and we have a chance to 

 draw a long breath ; but the winter months are not to be 

 idle ones so far as the bees' interests are concerned. This 

 is our chance to get ready for next year. 



It is well to begin by taking an inventory of what we 

 are likely to need — how many new hives, frames, bottom- 

 boards, covers, sections, etc. In making an estimate, per- 

 haps it is well to err on the side of having too much rather 

 than too little. 



In the very busy season we have no time for this kind 

 of work, at least we don't want to take any time for it ; we 

 want this work out of the way while we have the leisure 

 for it. 



I know it is often said that a woman can not drive a 

 nail, but bee-women know better than that, for many of 

 them do their own carpenter work without any assistance, 

 and do it well, too. 



Besides making new, there is always some repairing of 

 the stock on hand to be done. Now is the time to do it. 

 There is boiled-down comfort in having everything ready 

 for use. 



CLEANING T TINS. 



Do you use the T super ? If so, have j'ou your T tins 

 all cleaned ready for next year ? Don't forget that they can 

 be cleaned with concentrated lye, so that they will look 

 almost as good as new. 



OVERHAUI, THE SMOKER. 



Give your smoker a good overhauling, and put it away 

 in good shape for work when needed. 



LATE FEEDING OF BEES. 



Are you sure that your bees have plenty of stores for 

 the winter, and that you have done everything you possibly 

 can to insure their comfort and safety during their long 

 nap? If you are so unfortunate as to have to feed your 

 bees at this late hour, don't try to feed syrup, it is too late 

 for that. If you do not have frames of honey to give them, 

 then feed them candy. 



READING BEE-LITERATURB IN WINTER. 



How much of your time are you going to give to bee- 

 literature this winter ? Have you made any plans as to 

 what you are going to read? Remember, if you are going 

 to be a tip-top bee-keeper you must put your best efi^ort into 

 it. Get all the knowledge in regard to bees that you pos- 

 sibly can, and be ready to put it into practice when the right 

 time comes. 



"faithfulness" the key-note. 



Don't get discouraged because you can't learn all about 

 bees in a day. Possess your soul in patience, and keep 

 pegging away. There is an old proverb that says, " Keep- 

 ing everlastingly at it is sure to bring success." Be that as 

 it may, be sure thut/aiih/u/ness is the key-note to success 

 in every department of work. 



S.4VING BITS OF WAX, COMB, ETC. 



Now is a good time to get all the bits of wax and pieces 

 of old comb, etc., together, and extract the wax from them. 

 That is, unless you have been so energetic that you have it 

 done already. If you have carefully saved all stray bits it 

 may be a surprise to j'ou to see the nice cake of golden wax 

 you will have as the result of your labor. 



Preparation for Whitening the Skin. 



A very nice preparation for whitening the skin, is made 



of oatmeal, honey and lemon-juice. Mix oatmeal and honey 



together until you have a thick paste, then add enough 



lemon-juice to make the paste of the right consistency to 



spread on easily. 



-^ 



Advantages of a Deep Bottom-Board. 



Are you using a deep or a shallow bottom-board ? There 

 are many advantages in having a deep bottom-board. 

 Especially is this true in regard to wintering. It allows 

 the bees to cluster below the frames ; and what bee-keeper 

 does not enjoy peeping into the hives and seeing a large 

 cluster of contented bees hanging in plain sight, apparently 

 saying all is well. 



It gives them plenty of air, and there is no danger of 

 the entrance being clogged with dead bees as with a 

 shallow bottom-board. It is an easy matter to clean out all 

 dead bees if you wish, the space (2 inches) being ample to 

 allow their being raked out without disturbing the bees, 

 unless they are clustered below the frames, in which case 

 there is seldom any cleaning out necessary, for when you 

 find a cluster so large as to extend down through the 2inch 

 space and rest on the bottom-board, you will generally — 

 perhaps ahvays — find that the bees themselves keep their 

 floor swept up clean. 



During the honey harvest 2 inches is too much space to 

 allow under the brood-frames, for the bees will build down 

 and fill it solid with honey and brood — a thing that is not 

 desirable. 



The bottom-board can be reversed, but that means a 

 good deal of heavy lifting — a thing to be avoided as much 

 as possible — so a false bottom-board can be slipped in under 

 the brood-combs, leaving just the right space. It is taken 

 out in the fall as soon as the bees quit storing, and left out 

 until near the time for the next harvest. 



Our Wood Binder (or Holder) is made to take all the 

 copies of the American Bee Journal for a year. It is sent 

 by mail for 20 cents. Full directions accompany. The Bee 

 Journals can be inserted as soon as they are received, and 

 thus preserved for future reference. Upon receipt of SI. 00 

 for your Bee Journal subscription a /u// year zn advance, 

 we will mail you a Wood Binder free — if you will mention it. 



