Jan. 24, 1907 



American Hea Journal 



bers, usually keeping from 150 10 175 

 colonies, and tries to keep from 40 to 

 50 colonics in each yard. lie has never 

 been able to secure the large yields of 

 400 and 500 pounds of honey to the col- 

 ony that some report, his best yields 

 being only about loo pounds to the 

 colony, of extracted honey, and 50 to 

 75 pounds of comb honey. He has 

 produced many tons of honey in the 

 past 20 years, and has always found a 

 ready sale for it. 



Mr. Smith never runs after new fads 

 and fancies in the way of so-called 

 improvements in hives and other fix- 

 tures for the apiary, always leaving that 

 for the "other fellow" to test. Yet he 

 is not so "set" in his ways and manner 

 of workmg that he is not willing to 

 adopt the plans and ideas of others 

 when they are shown to possess real 

 merit. 



He is neither saint nor plebian, but 

 his integrity stands above reproach. He 

 was reared by Baptist parents, belongs 

 to no church, but inclines to the Chris- 

 tian faith. Owing to his jolly disposi- 

 tion and great love of music, he has 

 always been a favorite among the young 

 people, entertaining them for hours with 

 the sweet strains from his violin. He 

 loves Nature in all her charms, nothing 

 delighting him more than a lonely stroll 

 on a balmy spring day among the wild 

 flowers and budding branches, watching 

 the tiny bee gather the pollen, and lis- 

 tening to the warbles of the merry 

 songsters as they flit here and there 

 among the lofty branches that sway 

 above the silvery stream — the Rio Colo- 

 rado — near his home. 



(Mrs.) Sallie Oliver. 



our changes of weather beforehand, or 

 could we foritell the season to a better 

 extent, it would help us to profit much 

 by it. We could plan accordingly. In- 



stead, wr are left "guessing" most of 

 the time, and left to "take our chances." 

 This, f believe, is more true of 'I'cxas 

 than other States. 



Summer Weather in January 



We are having peculiar weather her* 

 in the South. It is the middle ot Janu- 

 ary, and the thermometer registers 80 

 degrees Fahr., today — real summer heat. 

 Roses, violets, and carnations are in 

 full bloom in the gardens, and some 

 wild flowers are to be seen in sheltered 

 spots. Occasionally a fruit-tree is cov- 

 ered with flowers, and bees hum about 

 them. We are sleeping with windows 

 open. There have been only a few 

 frosty nights this winter, but cold wea- 

 ther may yet be expected during the 

 next 2 months. However, I shaft not 

 venture to predict the weather. 



There is an old saying here in Texas 

 that amused some of our Northern dele- 

 gates to the San Antonio National Con- 

 vention last fall. Some of them naively 

 tried to "predict" the weather, not azvare 

 ho\vever_ that they were in "Texas." 

 The saying is somethmg like thij — and 

 you may know how some of them felt 

 about their predictions when they heard 

 it : "A Texan never tries to predict the 

 weather, because it is impossible to tell 

 anything about Texas weather," or what 

 it is going to do. So if }'OU hear any- 

 body predicting the weather in Texas, 

 you may put him down as being one 

 of two things — either he is a stranger or 

 he is a fool. 



The above fact as regards our dis- 

 ability to know more about our weather 

 is quite a factor, and of interest to the 

 bee-keeper. Could we know more about 



Conducted by Emma M. Wilson, Marengo, 111. 



Beeswax for Floor-Polish 



As a wax-polish for floors, the Irish 

 Bee Journal gives the following : 



Cut the beeswax into thin shavings, cover 

 with turpentine, let it stand 12 hours, stir up 

 with a sticlf, adding turpentine until the 

 mixture is thin like ordinary cream. Apply 

 it in small quantity, and polish with llannel. 



Bee-Keepers- 



-Transient 

 nent 



and Perma- 



" Leafless trees and meadows bare 

 Show the work of autumn air." 



Ever since attempting out-apiaries I 

 have found it imperative to keep a 

 horse and conveyance of some kind. 

 Having these, and realizing that many 

 of those compelled to deny themselves 

 of such privileges enjoy a ride even 

 more than I do, I frequently make it a 

 point to give such a treat in the way of 

 a short trip over the country. Among 

 others, a certain little girl delights to 

 accompany me. Little worth notice 

 escapes her bright eyes She has made 

 herself well acquainted with the birds'- 

 nests in trees, hedges, brush, and 

 weeds all along the highway. 



By being acquainted, I mean she 

 knows their history from the laying of 

 the first straws to the finishing touches 

 of the lining with soft material for the 

 reception of the delicate eggs, and, 

 later on, the tender young. From the 

 completion of the nests on, she anx- 

 iously watches and anticipates the time 

 for the birdlings to take their first les- 

 sons in flying. She knows the names 

 of different trees and plants, their time 

 and duration of blooming, the quan- 

 tity and quality of honey which may 

 be expected of them, perhaps much 

 better than many would-be bee-keepers. 



Her innocent prattle along the home- 

 ward stretch diverts one's mind from 

 tired and worn feelings, and in forget- 

 ting them one is amply repaid for any 

 little extra trouble it has been to give 

 her the outing. 



Recently, as the many-colored leaves 

 came scurrying down over us, I asked 

 her if autumn was not the most beau- 

 tiful of seasons ? She replied, with 

 not a little awe, combined with evident 

 distress and much concern, " Oh, no ; 

 don't you see the trees are almost bald- 

 headed?" 



In so many cases beekeepers prove 



to be most ardent lovers of Nature that 

 the questions, " Are Nature lovers " the 

 more likely to become bee-keepers, or 

 is it because they are bee keepers they 

 are compelled to be devotees of Na- 

 ture ? are forced upon me. 



It is quite easy to imagine the com- 

 mercial bee-keeper so busy that the 

 beauty so lavishly spread all around 

 him is lost, or to no purpose ; but with 

 the average beekeeper this constitutes 

 one ot the principal charms connected 

 with the pursuit. 



Right here we have two distinct 

 classes of bee-keepers — those who are 

 in the business for the love of it, and 

 those who are in it for the dollars it 

 brings. Quite a task lies ahead of 

 him who would enumerate a/i the dif- 

 ferent kinds of bee-keepers, and I do 

 not propose to attempt it, but the fol- 

 lowing are a few of them : 



Male and female, white, yellow, 

 black, and I may add "green." (Of 

 course, there's no one going to take 

 offence, because only the jocularly in- 

 clined, and those farthest from it, are 

 going to be willing to acknowledge 

 they are in the latter class.) But to re- 

 turn to our list : The aged and young 

 bee-keeper ; the amateur and the pro- 

 fessional ; the small bee-keeper with 

 his mere handful of colonies, and the 

 extensive one with his thousands of 

 colonies; the ambitious enthusiast and 

 the aimless stupid ; the successful and 

 the unsuccessful ; those who are bee- 

 keepers for the fun of it, and those 

 who must needs be in earnest. All 

 these, and many more kinds, may be 

 classed under " transient and perma- 

 nent.'" The former a sort o' " thorn in 

 the flesh " of the fraternity, and the 

 latter its " bone and sinew. ' 



The shedding of the leaves and the 

 decay of vegetation brings desolate, 

 neglected apiaries of the former to 

 light, and how very prominent they 

 do stand out — a disgrace to their own- 

 ers, and, for that matter, a disgrace to 

 the whole following. 'Tis plain to see 

 these are they who are on the lookout 

 for something for nothing, and, find- 

 ing naught but disappointment, are 

 eager to cry down the whole business 

 as a fake and a humbug. They belong 

 to that rapidly growing class who 

 search the newspapers and periodicals 

 for the flaming advertisements which 

 announce "freeoffers," and repeatedly 

 grasp at the alluring promises, much 



