Nov. 15. 1911 



meat, and that, if they are looking after 

 cheaper living, they must certainly include 

 honey — one of the most essential on the list? 

 Short articles written for these papers, 

 that will be printed gratuitously, telling 

 about the management of bees, will inter- 

 est the readers. At the same time, mention 

 of the food value of honey could be made. 



Any bee-keeper who can spend a week or 

 two peddling honey can make expenses, 

 and can, at the same time, meet a few hun- 

 dred people to whom he can talk in a way 

 "that will result in good customers in the fu- 

 ture. Stop at every house. Make a sale 

 every time if possible; and if they refuse to 

 buy, leave a generous sample, so that the 

 whole family will get a taste of it. Mention 

 the extra quality of your honey, and tell 

 them that they can always depend on get- 

 ting it from you. Speak of how thin it is 

 when the bees first take it into the hive, 

 but that you never extract it until it is per- 

 fectly ripe. Explain how it candies in cold 

 weather, and how to liquefy it. Can't you 

 see the good work that can be done along 

 this line? Fifty pounds of honey given 

 away in samples will create confidence and 

 customers, and result in the cheapest and 

 best kind of advertising. Much can be 

 accomplished by educating customers to 

 buy extracted honey by the gallon, as they 

 regard it as a luxury when purchasing it in 

 quart bottles, one or two at a time. 



For fifteen years my product has been 

 3000 to 4000 pounds of honey a season. 

 During this time it has been called for, and 

 I have simply filled my orders, selling 

 much of it in gallon cans. For two seasons 

 a large part was sold in Akin honey-bags, 



[in 2>^ and 5 pound packages. My custom- 

 ers took it readily. It was not only satis- 



[ factory, but surprising to many to see honey 

 in paper bags without showing a drop of 

 liquid, and solid as a rock; this provetl the 



[nature of perfectly ripened honey. But I 

 went back to gallon cans. AVhy? because 



I some customers were inclined to take only 



]5 pounds while they would have bought 10 

 or 12 pounds if put up in gallon cans. You 

 can see what I think of small packages. 



Past experience, and knowledge of the 

 amount of inferior extracted honey that has 

 been before the people, has driven me to 

 extremes — so much so that I have never 

 bought a pound of honey to supply my cus- 

 tomers in case of a season's failure. Cer- 

 tainly there are plenty of honey-producers 

 just as particular along this line as I am. 

 New London, O. 



THE BEE-KEEPERS WINTER WORK. 



Cofcd Weather the Best Time for Moving. 



BY ROBERT B. M'CAIN. 



The writer recently received a letter from 

 a brother bee-keeper asking what he could 

 do with his bees in the winter time. Would 

 it be safe for him to open the hives to look 

 into the clusters in order to ascertain the 



condition of the food supply, etc.? Such 

 questions suggest themselves to all bee- 

 keepers who are really interested in their 

 work with the bees; and these questions re- 

 cur again and again as they sit by the fire 

 during the long winter evenings and wonder 

 how it fares with the busy little workers 

 that are now so silent and inactive in their 

 winter nests. 



The answer that was given to this partic- 

 ular inquirer was that there is very little 

 that one can safely do with the bees during 

 the winter months; but there is a great deal 

 that one may do for them. Though it is 

 trying on the nerves to restrain the impulse 

 to open the hives and take a look at the bees 

 on a bright warm winter day when they are 

 flying in great numbers, the probability is 

 that they will be injured rather than helped 

 by thus disturbing their household affairs. 



One thing that one may and should do for 

 his bees in the winter months is to look care- 

 fully after the protection of the hives from 

 the cold winds. If the hives are not shelter- 

 ed by buildings or a tight board fence on 

 the north and west, something ought to be 

 done. Some old boards placed so as to break 

 the force of the winds will help wonderfully; 

 and if the hives have a tendency to leak, a 

 covering of some sort that will keep out wa- 

 ter should be put over them. Perhaps there 

 is nothing better than tar paper for this pur- 

 pose. Care should be taken not to bank 

 straw or leaves about the hives in such a 

 way as to hold moisture. If these materials 

 are used, they should be protected from the 

 rain and snow so as to remain perfectly dry. 



And then one may change the location of 

 the apiary in the winter time better than at 

 any other time. If for any reason it is de- 

 sirable to make a change of this kind, a new 

 location should be sought and carefully pre- 

 pared before any thing is done to the bees. 

 Having chosen the site, and having placed 

 the hive-stands in position, a day should be 

 set for the work of moving the bees. If the 

 distance is more than three miles the bees 

 may be stopped in the hive, and moved at 

 any time without danger of their returning; 

 but if they are moved only a short distance, 

 a time should be chosen after the bees have 

 been confined to the hive by the cold for a 

 week or ten days at least. The'hive-entrances 

 should be carefully stopped with wire cloth 

 the evening before the bees are to be moved. 



No better method of moving bees has ever 

 been invented than the old-fashioned way 

 of carrying the hives in the hands. " If they 

 are too heavy for one person, some way can 

 be devised for two men to carry a hive be- 

 tween them. The next best method is to 

 use a sled on a smooth track in the snow. 

 A wheelbarrow should not be used for this 

 work, as it is almost impossible to avoid vi- 

 olent shaking of the bees, and even break- 

 ing the brittle combs in the cold. When 

 the distance is too great to move the bees 

 by hand or even with a hand-sled, then em- 

 ploy a bob-sled, if possibl e. By all means 

 avoid using a wagon with out springs. 



If the apiary is suitably located, and the 



