Jamiary, igog. 



American Hee Joarnal j 



You see, ^Ir. A, that the bees had 48 hours 

 the start with queen-cells before the new queen 

 was at liberty to lay. Then she had to travel 

 over the combs and get acquainted with the 

 bees and see if there were any rival to con- 

 tend with. This would take iH days. Then, 

 after the first egg is laid, it takes 3 davs to 

 hatch. So they had 614 days the start with 

 old queen-cells before they could get a larva 

 to start a cell from the new queen's larvs. 

 If the bees should start cells from the new 

 queen's larvae when the cells were 9 days old, 

 the young queen in the old queen-cells would 

 be hatching, so you see you are wrong. 



On September 3, 1902, I freed 3 queens 

 in hive No. 3. This colony never cast a 

 swarm until Tune 10, 1907. Those 3 queens 

 lived until the middle of May, 1904. Two 

 of those queens, their workers, and drones, 

 were yellow to the tip of abdomen. The 

 third queen's drones were as yellow to the 

 tip. but her workers had 3 yellow bands and 

 yellow to the tip on the underside of the 

 abdomen. Those 3 queens were superseded 

 in May, 1904, and each young queen's drones 

 w^ere yellow\ And every queen I have had 

 from this breeder is just as well marked. 

 There is not a better race of bees in America. 

 They fulfill every claim this breeder claims 

 for them. Those 3 queens lived from May. 

 1904 to May, 1908, and were stronger in 

 bees than any other colony in my yard; and 

 as for the 2 queens that cast prime swarms, 

 the mother colony always filled its sections 

 ^^'^; Subscriber. 



iSew York State. 



Report for 1908. 



I had 40 colonies of bees in the spring. I 

 got over 500 pounds of comb honey, and an 

 increase of 10 colonies, making 50 colonies. 

 I just placed them in the cellar for the winter. 



TA f ,... -^"^"^ Cline. 



Darlington, Wis., Dec. 9. 



A Honey-Strainer. 



I herewith send a description of a honey- 

 strainer that I made for my son, Morley 

 several years ago. It was made for straining 

 honey into barrels just as it came from the 

 extractor. It consists of a tin can about 16 

 inches in diameter, and 8 or 9 inches high, 

 with an outlet about 2 inches in diameter, and 

 aoout 2 inches long, placed in the center of 

 the bottom. In this can is placed a wire 

 cage or basket, made of strong wirecloth, 

 which is about 15 inches in diameter, and 

 one inch lower than the can. The meshes 

 may be two or three to the inch. This basket 

 is set in the tin can on blocks, legs, or any 

 convenient thing to keep it about J-^-inch 

 from the bottom of the can. Now spread a 

 piece of cheese-cloth over it all, and you have 

 a strainer second to none. So I think. But 

 "i^y ^^^y I never saw any other honev-strain- 

 cr? There is no necessity for the basket to 

 be as high as the can, for the cloth goes over 

 all, and if the honey should get above the 

 basket no harm will result. 



Aylmer, Ont. S. T. Pettit. 



Experience with a T-Super. 



In the November issue I noticed something 

 about the T-super. Now. I would like to tell 

 my experience with the T-super. I have kept 

 bees successfully for several years, and one of 

 my first supers was a T-super. Its most ob- 

 jectionable points were that the top and bottom 

 of the sections were exposed, and the bees 

 *""•< advantage of this, and when I took the 

 filled sections off the hives they were all bee- 

 stained. Thus a lot of labor in the way of 

 scraping and cleaning was necessary to put 

 the sections in shape for market, but the writ- 

 ^r in the American Bee Journal explains that 

 Miss Wilson scrapes and sandpapers the sec- 

 tions while in the super. 



Now, what do you think of such a lot of 

 labor and loss of time, and the sandpaper dust, 

 which is not wholesome, all over the comb 

 honey? However, to say that this super has 

 so many advantages, and the rapidity with 

 which the sections can be handled, and with 

 ease; and also boasting that it has no equal on 

 the market— the T-super has not only equals, 

 but many supers are far superior. I have 

 given the T-super a test, and it proved to be 

 it regular time-waster and an out-of-date super 

 which produces the most unclean sections of 

 any super I ever had in my bee-yard. 



All I can say about the T-super is that it 

 is a super for a bee-keeper who does not 

 care to be up-to-date, and who has a lot of 

 time to waste in a most unnecessary way, but 

 this is tar too siow for me. I will never 



allow such a time-killer as the T-super on any 

 of my hives again, as I would consider it a 

 great waste of time and labor, which is too 

 valuable a thing to waste in the present cen- 

 tury. Therefore we want a super that can 

 be quickly filled and emptied, and at the same 

 time keep the sections clean and square, so 

 that they can be placed on the market in a 

 most appetizing wav, and with the least pos- 

 sible labor. A. Reader. 

 Guelph, Ont. 



A Good Honey-Year. 



This (1908) has been a good honey-year in 

 this section. I started in the spring with 7 

 colonies, and increased to 13. From colonies 

 I, 2, and 4, I procured 100 pounds of comb 

 and 300 pounds of extracted honev. Mv en- 

 tire crop was 530 pounds of comb and ex- 

 tracted. There was no fall flow as usual, 

 which, of course, made my crop smaller than 

 I had expected. But I can not complain, as 

 I think I have done very well for a beginner. 

 Thos. H. White. 



Connersville, Ind., Nov. 30. 



Peculiar Season. 



The honey crop here was short. I got 40 

 pounds of comb honey to the colony, from 14 

 colonies, spring count, and increased to 26 

 colonies, by nucleus method; no natural 

 swarms. The honey harvest here was pe- 

 culiar this season. There was nothing that 

 could be called a honey-flow. Bees commenced 

 gathering a little surplus about June 15, and 

 continued till September 15. During this time 

 there was scarcely a week that the strong 

 colonies did not put up a few pounds of sur- 

 plus. It required careful handling to obtain 

 maximum results. I soon "caught on" that 

 the best way to handle this slow harvest was 

 to keep room enough in the supers, without 

 too much; with plenty of encouragement in 

 the way of "go-backs." The work was nearly 

 all done in single supers. The result was 

 there was not much extra fancy, but most of 

 it goes all right on the local, market. There 

 was no more honey harvested in this locality 

 than will supply the local trade till Christmas. 



Cainsville, Mo., Nov. 30. J. French. 



Selling Honey at Home. 



The season of 1908 has passed. It was not 

 a prosperous season so far as bee-keeping is 

 concerned, as the whole surplus from 26 colo- 

 nies amounting to only 900 pounds — less than 

 half a crop. But all sold like hot-cakes, at 10 

 cents a pound — all extracted. In fact. I 

 could not get it off the hives before my cus- 

 tomers stood ready to grab it. I sell all my 

 honey to private customers. I put it up in 

 V2-gailon jars (Mason fruit-jars) and 60-pound 

 cans nicely labeled, and it takes about i U 

 tons to fill that trade. The labels on all 

 packages and boxes have given me more trade 

 than I am able to supply. The price ( 1 o 

 cents a pound) is for the bare honey, right 

 here in the apiary. The cost of jars and cans, 

 is added, and the freight paid by the recipient. 



The bees are now suoplied with at least 30 

 pounds per colony for winter, and winter- 

 cases put on. I have in all 30 colonies in good 

 order. Last winter we did not have one whole 

 week that bees could not fly. The thermome- 

 ter did not get lower than 29 degrees, and 

 that only in the early morning, and no snow 

 at all, but rain, of course. 



The American Bee Tournal is keeping up its 

 reputation as the "Old Reliable." I do like 

 the old friends that T never saw — Dr. C. C. 

 Miller. G. M. Doolittle. Professor Cook, and 

 Miss Emma Wilson, and all the others who 

 write for the American Bee Journal. They all 

 seem as if I knew them as old friends. 



O. K. Rice. 



Wahkiakum Co., Wash.. Nov. 25. 



Women as Bee-Keepers. 



I read with mucli interest articles appearing 

 in Miss Wilson's department of the Journal, 

 and especially so with those appearing in the 

 November issue. Comments by Miss Wilson 

 on Prof. Cook's reference in Gleanings, to 

 poultry-keeping in connection with bee-keej)- 

 ing, is timely, and should interest bee-keeping 

 women generally. It has been my observation 

 that women, because of the greater care and 

 attention they give to details in whatever they 

 have in hand, are especially adapted to the 

 occupation of bee-keeping, poultry-raising, cul- 

 tivation of flowers and small fruits. 



I have given instruction to many, who, at 

 first, seemed timid, and who hesitated to ap- 



proach a hive of bees, but soon got entirely 

 over their fear; and the gentleness, dexterity 

 and care with which the frames of bees were 

 handled, was surprising to me. I really think 

 that intelligent women, who may be situated 

 favorably for a combination of bee-keeping 

 with any. or all, of the occupations above 

 mentioned, with a little help for the heavier 

 work, ought to make a success of the business. 



The statement by Miss Wheeler, of her per- 

 severance under difficulties — those stings she 

 uncomplaining bore — my! where is there a 

 man who would have done that ? It shows 

 the right kind of spirit to make a bee-keeper, 

 or to do anything else, where nerve and en- 

 durance are requisite to success. 



The same thing is exemplified in the state- 

 ment by Mr. Dayton respecting the work done 

 by Mrs. Dayton — the taking off tons of honey, 

 and the management of the bees — showing that 

 gentleness and care are essential qualities in 

 the proper management of bees. 



That abundant success may attend the bee- 

 keeping-sisters, and that more may be en- 

 couraged to engage in this most fascinatiuo; 

 pursuit, is my wish. 



Wm. ;M. Whitney. 



Evanston. 111. 



Encouraging Neighbors to Keep Bees. 



I am one of the beginners (and may be a 

 quitter soon) in the bee-business. Some things 

 I read in the American Bee Journal do not 

 seem altogether reasonable to me. Why bee- 

 keepers should encourage their neighbors to 

 keep bees, for example. I would prefer that 

 nobody had bees closer to me than 2 miles, 

 instead of close around me as they are. Why? 

 I could then rear pure-bred bees, and sell 

 more honey. 



As to whether it pays to make one's own 

 hives, depends upon circumstances, I think. 

 If one has any skill with tools, and any spare 

 time, he should make very good wages making 

 his own hives. Empty bodies, bottoms and 

 covers cost $1.00. The materials for the 

 same cost not over 40 cents. I can make 5 

 hives a day. thus earning $3 a day. These 

 will have gained corners and be nailed in 

 two directions in each corner, thus making a 

 hive that will stand the climate of the Middle 

 West. I think one can better afford to buy 

 all the inside furniture, however. 



I should say to any one contemplating bee- 

 keeping, to get a book on the subject first, 

 and read the advertissmehts in the bee-papers 

 too. It will save him money. 



Missouri Jim. 



Lemonville, Mo., Nov. 28. 



[ We don't know any one who encourages 

 his neighbors to keep bees. Of course, if 

 they have bees, or are bound to have them, 

 why not try to get them to read the American 

 Bee Journal regularly ? It surely is better 

 to have well-inforraed bee-keeping neighbors 

 than ignorant ones. — Editor.] 



Horsemint and Mesquite in Texas. 



We are having some good rains which are 

 bringing up the horsemint in good s-hap-:- 

 Horsemint is one of the main honey-plants in 

 this part of Texas. It stayed in bloom here 

 last spring several weeks, and all strong c no- 

 nies stored about 100 pounds of bulk honey 

 from it. We get a crop of horsemint honey 

 only about every 2 or 3 years. 



This county is not favored with as many 

 plants and honey-producing trees as some ntlitrr 

 counties. ^Mesqviite yields more honev Iierc 

 than all other plants put together, as a general 

 thing, but it failed here this year. Uccs are 

 in good shape here now'. Th°y are still woik- 

 ing strong on broom-weed. N^ tinst here 

 yet at this date. It is a fine plac^ to rear 

 bees. If they run short of feed in the fall, 

 we can feed them any kind of sugar for win- 

 ter stores. They are never shut up in the 

 hive over 3 days at a time, on account of 

 cold weather. The fall of 1907 I fed my bees 

 400 pounds of light brown sugar, and they 

 came out last spring in good shape. 



I started in last spring with 34 nuclei, and 

 JTicreased to 100 colonies by dividing and rear- 

 ing queen-cells by the Doolittle plan. When 

 the cells were 9 days old, I would take the 

 new colony and set it back behind the old 

 colony, and lift out the frame that had the 

 queen on it and set it in the new hive with 

 another frame of hatching brood and a frame 

 of foundation between, and other foundation 

 as fast as they would use it. In 24 hours I 

 gave the queenless part the queen - cell. 

 When both colonies became strong I made an 

 entrance in the back of the hive that I gave 

 the queen-cell, and picked the other hive up 



