1904 



GLKAXIXGS IX BEE CULTURE. 



as nice as that made by the stock I had. 

 This is one of the reasons why it may pay 

 you better to improve your own stock by 

 cai'eful selection than to buy your queens. 



Stones on covers have other uses than to 

 keep them from being blown off by the 

 wind, though they are valuable for that, es- 

 pecially at out-apiaries. It is true the bees 

 will stick them fast if they have a chance; 

 but the sticking process requires time, es- 

 pecially in cool weather, and. one does not 

 feel easy when he reflects that the apiary 

 he may not see again for a week may have 

 half of the covers blown off. 



The best cover for a hive, in my opinion, 

 is a plain flat board. But no matter how 

 well you cleat such a cover, some of them 

 will warp and twist, especially when exposed 

 to the dry air and hot sun of the arid region. 

 In fact, I have never seen a flat cover that 

 would not do so. Cracks in the top of the 

 hive do not conduce to good work in the su- 

 per, nor to the well being of the colony at 

 other times. It is to avoid these cracks 

 that many use cloths. The cloth keeps the 

 top of the hive tight, and the cover protects 

 the cloth. I prefer not to use the cloth. If 

 a cover twists so that it does not make a 

 good fit, I lay a fifteen or twenty pound 

 stone on it. Obstinate cases may require a 

 stone on each of the raised corners. It 

 takes some work to handle these stones, it 

 is true; but I have never found any satis- 

 factory way to dispense with them. The 

 double cover used by many in Colorado is 

 almost as much of a nuisance as the stones, 

 which do not have to be used on all hives at 

 all times. 



Are you going to sell any honey in paper 

 this year? Better try it if you are so situat- 

 ed that you can establish a market for it. 

 Do not say that you can not do it because 

 the demand does not exist. In most places 

 you will have to create the demand, because 

 it will be practically a new article. This is 

 no m.ore than the enterprising dealer in many 

 other lines of business has to do. You can 

 do it, and in the end it will mean an in- 

 creased demand and a better market for your 

 honey. 



Put it in paper bags as late as possible, 

 just so that you can get it to run through 

 your honey-gate. If it is not convenient for 

 you to get the regular Aikin honey-bags, you 

 may be able to find something at your local 

 stores that will answer. Some of the ordi- 

 nary paper bags are all right, while in oth- 

 ers the paper is too porous unless the bags 

 can be placed in a very cold temperature at 

 once after filling, until they are solid. This 

 may be avoided by waxing; but as this re- 

 quires something of an outfit to do it prop- 

 erly, you would better get the I'egular hon- 

 ey-bags if you can. If you use the thin pa- 

 per bags they will probably need an outer 

 wrapper, on which an ordinary honey-label 

 can be pasted. 



Let me suggest that, for the grocery 



trade, you use a size that will retail for 

 25 cts. ; and that, if you are going to retail 

 it yourself, you put up all that you can af- 

 ford to for a dollar, and make a point of its 

 cheapness as well as convenience. The 

 strong point in favor of the paper package 

 is that the consumer pays practically noth- 

 ing for the package. The saving to the 

 producer over putting honey in small glass 

 packages, in the way of labor, is also enor- 

 mous. 



There seems to be an immense amount of 

 white clover all over the fields. The fre- 

 quent rains throughout the country have 

 given it a vigorous growth. 



There are many good hints in the new 

 department in this issue, ' ' Bee-keeping 

 among the Rockies." Mr. Green is going to 

 make a good paragraph-writer. 



I EXPECT to be present at the National 

 convention at the Christian Endeavor Hotel, 

 near the World's Fairgrounds, St. Louis, 

 from Sept. 27th to 30th. This will be a big 

 meeting, and an important one. Every bee- 

 keeper who can should come. 



SELLING HONEY EARLY. 



A REFERENCE to the many i-eports seems 

 to indicate a scarcity of new honey on the 

 markets. A year ago at this time there 

 was considerable in comparison with what 

 we find now. No doubt many bee-keepers 

 are holding back for better prices. This is 

 all right; but do not wait too long. Take my 

 word for it, if you do not get your honey 

 sold before January, you will rue it. Some- 

 times honey is allowed to lie in the hands of 

 the commission man a month or six weeks 

 before a buyer is found. 



THOSE MINIATURE OR BABY NUCLEI. 



These are giving splendid results, notwith- 

 standing the nights are quite cool, and the 

 clusters of some of the larger nuclei of the 

 old-fashioned kind have drawn pretty com- 

 pactly together. Indeed, the bees in the 

 small ones seem to have the advantage over 

 the large ones. The box in which they are 

 confined being very small, it permits them 

 to confine the heat in small compass. The 

 result is that both sides of the two little 

 combs are literally c jvered with bees, and 

 there are eggs and brood on all four sides; 

 yet the aggregate amount of surface of these 

 two combs is equal to only a third of a Lang- 

 stroth frame. 



