Mar. 28, 1907 



^'- Am^ric in Hee Journal fc 



< v^^»-,J 



<iueen ie. I don'l believe he ever saw an im- 

 ported Italian queen and her colony of work- 

 ers and drones. Any man who knows any- 

 thing about bees knows that Italian ciueens 

 are not all bright yellow. Neither do all 

 Italian drones have 4 yellow bands. We all 

 know that pure Italian drones vary in color 

 from a yellow copper color to nearly black. 

 So our New Yorker wants 4 yellow bands on 

 drones and M on workers. 



Now, Mr. New Yorker, it you can test a 

 <iueen Ijy her drones only, you can do more 

 than most bee-keepers. You say a pure Ital- 

 ian queen is bright yellow; her drones and 

 workers are marked just like her. But just 

 before, you say her drones have 4 yellow 

 bands and her workers 3. How is this? 



Well, if some breeder should send our New 

 Yorker a Texas yellow wasp marked " Ital- 

 ian," I doubt if he could tell whether it were 

 a tested Italian queen or a cheap mongrel. 



Uvalde Co., Tex. Grant .Vndbkson. 



Bees Stealing Pollen 



We are having a cold winter, but my bees 

 ■don't know it. I have 71 colonies in the cel- 

 lar under the kitchen. 



I have never read of bees robbing pollen, 

 but had such a case last summer. The rob- 

 ber-bees would stay outside on the alighting- 

 board, and as a bee loaded with pollen would 

 alight it would run against her and cause her 

 to lose part of her load, which it would gather 

 up and carry away. While this would cause 

 but little damage to the colony, it shows a 

 reasoning power which can hardly be called 

 instinct. T. Proctor Otis. 



Coaticook, Que., Feb. IT. 



Bee-Keeping in Central and North- 

 west Arkansas 



Twenty years ago I located in Pope Co., 

 Ark., near the central part of the State, north 

 of the Arkansas River. About one-fourth of 

 the inhabitants there had bees — some pure 

 Italians, some hybrids, and a few blacks. I 

 found no bee books, papers, nor professional 

 apiarists to instruct them ; still they were 

 comparatively successful. It was certainly a 

 good bee-country, and their bees swarmed a 

 great deal. Those men could transfer, make 

 "artificial swarms," and introduce queens. 

 Their hives were made by carpenters in the 

 pine lumber mills that were numerous all over 

 that country. They were made of soft yellow 

 •pine, very porous, and the planks were sawed 

 15-2 Inches thick, probably were IV inches 

 thick when run through a planer. Those 

 hives resembled the Dadant style, and were 

 made well. I never saw a section-honey box 

 used. They all produced comb honey in the 

 full size frames which they cut out, saving no 

 comb, and trusting to the bees to make more. 



Those bee-men never bothered about selling 

 honey, and never tried to make it a financial 

 income, as they were all " well-to-do " cotton- 

 raisers, who had sufficient means to live easy, 

 and did not regard the " apiary " sufHciently 

 important to bother about selling queens, 

 joining a " bee-society," nor subscribing for 

 a bee-paper. Still, several of those men had 

 " bee-orchards " (almost all had their hives 

 in apple or peach orchards) as large, and 

 some a great deal larger than several of our 

 Apiarists who write and illustrate for our 

 leading bee-papers. 



There are a great many bees in Arkansas, 

 'but those quiet, conservative, soft-talking 

 Southerners do not " blow " about it. They 

 are among the best men in the world. There 

 is no deceit nor hypocrisy about them, and. in 

 their saber-slashed, bullet-pierced thorax 

 bnats a magnanimous heart. 



Bees in that locality gathered their honey 

 from various flowers that bloomed in pro- 

 fusion along the water-courses and in the 

 fields. Cotton-blossoms furnish a great deal 

 of excellent honey, and the theory that it 

 " explodes" or ferments is all bosh. It makes 

 an excellent, rich honey, oily, but by some it 

 is not liked so well until they get used to it. 

 Most of the honey is flavored with peach and 

 apple blossom, and with the aroma of the 



famous musi: inline, which surpasses all llie 

 knumn llavor-i You can smell au apiary where 

 bees use llir syrup that exudes from the 

 ripened fruit i half mile on a damp, still day. 

 The wax is veiy nice— more oily than the wax 

 in the North, :is it contains more or less cot- 

 ton-oil, and is more easily " broken down " 

 in warm weather. 



Well, I joinid in with those fellows in the 

 bee-business. I bought 12 colonies (hybrids), 

 and with an old-style knowledge of bees ob- 

 tained from my father, who had his whole 

 apple orchard lllled with hives, I began with 

 " A li C of Beo-Culture " as a guide. I did 

 well, although 1 never trusted enough in my 

 own skill to run into the full details of queen- 

 rearing by nuclei, nor uniting " fall swarms." 

 I could divide in the spring, and teed and ex- 

 change brood-combe, and speedily build up 

 weak colonies. I reared my own queens in 

 strong colonies dequeened for the business, 

 and I inserted cells, mostly. Sometimes I in- 

 serted^ queens without trouble. My apiary 

 became so large, and as I never tried to sell 

 my honey, I gave it away ! I am a physician, 

 and my practise became so great in that mala- 

 rial country that I could not be bothered with 

 bees. My experience with bees there was for 

 about 7 years. Of course, that was some time 

 ago, and I am informed that the people have 

 advanced "out of sight" in the mode of 

 handling bees. I hope so, at least. I am now 

 located in one of the most beautiful " spots in 

 Dixie " — oh, so lovely ! I wishthat Mr. Doo- 

 little could see those beautiful springs, parks, 

 orchards, lakes, bluffs, and valleys all in 

 bloom with almost every kind of flower that 

 citn bloom on this mundane sphere, inter- 

 spersed with grapes, strawberries, blackber- 

 ries, raspberries, pears, apples, peaches, buck- 

 wheat, and clover. My " bee-brothers " will 

 see that I can not help doing well here with 

 bees. I have just begun, having bought up a 

 few colonies over the country and have not 

 moved them home yet. I am going to be 

 (jifc this time and "put on style " with my 

 hives. I will use 2 Jumbo with halt supers. 

 I will describe the modus operandi in my next 

 article, and will also tell of the " bee-men " 

 and " bee-women," and also their bees and 

 their mode of management. An " old maid " 

 near me has sent tor me to help her with her 

 bees— and I must go and help her— provided 

 my wife doesn't see me ! 



Jules Belknap, M. D. 



Sulphur Springs, Ark. 



Laying Workers, Introducing 

 Queens, Etc. 



Last fall I put some colonies of bees into 

 the cellar. They had not a great deal of 

 honey, so I took a tin pan 4x9 inches and 3 

 inches deep, filled it with the best white 

 sugar, turned on enough cold water to moisten 

 it all, and the next morning I had a fine 

 block of sugar. I gave each colony a block, 

 and they are all alive now. 



Treatment op Laying Workers. 



Give them a good whiff of sulphur. In 

 1906 I had 3 laying worker colonies. I gave 

 one colony a queen-cell, but after the young 

 queen had mated with the drone they killed 

 the queen ; 3d, I sprinkled them with sweet- 

 ened water and oil of peppermint. Next I 

 saw drone-layers on the ground. 



How to Inteoddce Queens. 



Take off the honey-board ; capture the old 

 queen; place the new queen in a wire cage 4 

 inches long and 1 inch wide ; fit a wooden 

 plug into the end of the cage ; bore with a z^^- 

 inch bit in the end of each plug }.2 inch. Fill 

 the holes with sugar and honey. Mix not too 

 soft to daub the queen. Don't give any 

 nurse-bees. Place the cage in the center of 

 the cluster of bees. Let it lie between 2 top- 

 bars. If there is any sealed honey press the 

 wire into the comb and let it stay 48 hours. 

 In the eveniug. after the 48 hours, mix i^ 

 teacupful of honey and water. Don't make 

 it sticky. Bluw smoke on top and below. 

 Then sprinkle the bees with the mixture and 

 give them tiuie to fill themselves. When they 



commence to hum blow a little more smoke 

 on them ; free the queen ; close the hive, and 

 don't disturb them. Place a shallow box un- 

 der >he hive-entrance, and then if they de- 

 stroy the queen you can see her., 

 Bergen, N. Y., Feb. 20. E. Ticker. 



70 Colonies of Bees 

 For Sale C heap 



In large <|uantities, J3.0U per colony, and 

 S3. 50 in small lots. The bees are in lO-frama 

 Langstroth hives, and in excellent condition. 



i3A4t G. PROCtlNOW, Maijville, Wis. 



BIG STOCK 



DOVETAILED HIVES, 



SectlOdB, etc. I sell Marshfield Mfg. Co.'saod 

 Root's SUPPLIES at factory prices, m frame, 

 lH-story,«l 35; lOframe, $1.50; No. 1 SectionB, 

 $4; No. 2, $3.50. Sead for4«pige price-list if 

 you haven't one. With an order amoantin^ to 

 $15 or over I give T percent discount till May 10. 



S. D. BUELL, Unron City, Mich. 



13A2t Please meatioa the Bee Joaraal. 



Standard=Bred Queens 



Reared from Imported and Home-Bred Cau- 

 casian, Carniolan, Hall's Superior Goldens, 

 and Leather-Colored Italian Breeders. Their 

 bees are honey-getters. Untested Queens, $1 ; 

 6, $5; 12, $9. Select untested, .«1.25; 6, *6; 12, 

 $10. Tested,.?!. 50; select, $2.50; best, $.5. List 

 free. T. S. HALL,. 



llD8t JASPER, Pickens Co., rjA. 



Queens from 1000 colonies OUppllCS 

 I sell queens at — 1 queen, 25e; doz., S3. Also 

 following supplies at 3-2 Root's prices: 1000 

 F.&I. fences; 1000 plain section -holders; 1000 

 4^4 x4J^ plain sections; Daisy foundation fas- 

 tener; 10-inch foundation mill; 200 10-frame 

 wood-zincs; 2 doz. Porter escapes: 500 Hoff- 

 man frames. R. M. SPEiKCKR, 

 4A16t ^fordholt, Cal. 



TAYLOR'S STRAIN OF ITALIANS 



IS T£€E BBST 



Long TonBues and Goldens are best of honey- 

 gatherers; 18 yrs. a specialty, breeding for best 

 honey-gatherers. Untested, 75c. or$tSa doz.; Tested, 

 $1. or flu a doz.; Select Tested, $1.50. Breeders, 

 very best, from $3 to $5. ('arniolans same price. Try 

 them We also sell Nuclei and full colonies. Bees 

 in separate yards. Safe arrival guaranteed. 



J. W. TAYLOR & SON 



13A10t BKEVILLE. Bee Co.. TEXAS. 



AMERICAN LINDEN 



OR BASSWOOD TREES 



By Express or Freight. 



6 to 8 feet, each Sc; per 100 $".00 



8 to 10 feet, each 9c; per 100 8.00 



ARTHUR STANLEY, Dixon, III. 



13Atf Please mention the Bee Journal. 



BEE-SUPPLIES 



Hives, Sections, Comb Foundation, Smolders, 

 etc. Best of goods, reasonable prices, and a 

 " square deal." Send tor free catalog. 



ARTHUR RATTRAY, Almont, Mich. 



13A13t Please mention the Bee Journal. 



Moore's Long-Tongue and Qolden 

 —QUEENS— 



Fine Selert Untested Queens, SI; t., S5; 12, |9. 

 Tested, Jt.SO; 6, $8. Best Breeders, $3.50. Safe 

 arrival guaranteed. W. H. RAILS, Orange, Cal. 



9D18t Please mention the Bee Journal. 



« It Is continuous advertising 

 that Impresses the public 

 with the stability of a firm." 



