NOVEMBER 15, 1914 



901 



the wet blanket, which (doubled) is placed 

 as a (over to the tank on the wheelbarrow. 

 I shake the bees off the combs (no brush- 

 ing), and throw them into the tank. Be- 

 cause of the amount of smoke and the short- 

 ness of the operation no robbers will bother. 

 We then lift the tank over a brisk fire, 

 placing some close-fitting boards on top of 

 the wet blanket. In a few minutes the steam 

 will rise so densely as to cook thoroughly 

 every thing in the tank. 



If there is much honey I can it and feed 

 it. As a rule this will not pay. If honey 

 is coming in I give the bees foundation; if 



not, I give them an old comb for 24 hours, 

 then take it away and melt it or burn it, 

 and give the bees combs and feed them. 



This tank will hold from forty to fifty 

 combs, so about four single-story or two- 

 story hives can be treated. 



If bee inspectors were to carry a can like 

 the above while inspecting, and treat the 

 bees by this plan, then and there, there 

 would be no American foul brood very long. 

 Two men could easily treat fifty colonies a 

 day. 



Riverside, Cal. 



BEES ON A SMALL CITY LOT 



BY WALTER M. JOHNSON 



Some people have 

 the idea that bees will 

 not do well on a city 

 lot. I think this is a 

 mistake. In the spring 

 of 1909 I had a severe 

 case of bee fever. I 

 wanted some bees of 

 my own, as I thought 

 there was a market for 

 all the honey I could 

 get. Some told me that 

 bees would never do well unless they were 

 on a big farm where they would have woods 

 from which to get honey-dew ! I thought I 

 would see for myself whether or not bees 

 could be kept on a small space of ground. 



I planted some Spanish buckwheat on all 

 the ground I had, and my seven colonies of 

 bees did extremely well. I think that suc- 



W. M. Johnson. 



cess depends on the care and attention the 

 bees have. Beekeeping is a very profitable 

 pastime for city fellows. I haven't as many 

 colonies of bees as I should have if I had 

 the time; but I am going to get more and 

 go into beekeeping right before long. I 

 am going to change from the black bee to 

 the Italian, for they are the best honey- 

 producers for me. 



After I had kept bees for a while I 

 experienced a good many troubles which I 

 sujDpose many beginners have. I did not 

 know how to avoid them, so I began to 

 search for a magazine for beekeepers. 

 When I found Gleanings I knew it was a 

 good magazine for me. I think every bee- 

 keeper should have a good bee magazine, 

 just as farmers and other professional men 

 have their magazines, 



Jenison, Ala. 



HOW A BOTS INTEREST WAS AROUSED 



BY R. S. SATTERFIELD 



It must have been in the springtime, 

 years ago, when my father and older broth- 

 er ate an early dinner, got in a farm wagon, 

 and drove away. At what hour they re- 

 turned I do not know, but I presume it was 

 in the latter part of the night. Out in one 

 corner of the yard next morning were six 

 or eight " bee-gums," boxes about a foot 

 square and two feet high. I learned that 

 the bees belonged to Mr. Phillips, and that 

 father had agreed to keep them and to give 

 Mr. Phillips half the honey and half the 

 increase; but just when I learned this I do 

 not know. This contract remained in effect 

 for ten or twelve years. 



The next thing I remember about the 

 bees after that first morning is a swarm 



coming out. I remember that father used 

 an old cow-bell and mother a small dinner- 

 bell. Around and around they went, through 

 the garden and out into the orchard, where 

 the bees settled on the body of the old June 

 apple-tree. Father surely did look funny 

 with one of mother's bonnets on, tied close 

 up under his chin, the skirt of the bonnet 

 under his coat, and his coat buttoned all 

 the way from top to bottom and the collar 

 turned np. It was funny, too, to see him 

 go up and brush a few bees off and then run 

 and crouch down among the currant bushes. 

 At last mother took hold and succeeded in 

 hiving the bees. It turned out that mother 

 had to manage the bees, father assisting 

 when they settled where mother could not 



