March, 1909. 



American ^ae*Journal 



Conducted by EMMA M. WILSON. Marengo. 111. 



Hives in Winter — Swarming. 



Dear Miss Wilson: — I have never kept bees 

 before, and I would like to ask a few questions. 



.Are the hives to be entirely closed during 

 the winter, or is the opening to be free so as 

 to allow the bees to come out? We have had 

 a few warm days which have brought the bees 

 out. and I found a great many dead bees near 

 the hives. 



How can one distinguish the queen-bee from 

 the rest? 



What time do they swarm? 



Does swarming have any effect upon the 

 amount of honey that is stored? 



Is there any way to prevent bees from swarm- 

 ing? Mrs. R. Smith. 



Detroit, Mich. 



Hives must never be entirely closed 

 ill winter. The amount of opening de- 

 ])ends upon circumstances. .-\s far north 

 as you are, if bees are wintered out- 

 doors, the opening at the entrance 

 should be small, say 4 inches, or per- 

 haps as much as 8, by %. while 'way 

 down South far enough, the full en- 

 trance should be given. But if bees are 

 kept in the cellar ( and cellaring is likely 

 tlie best thing for you), then you can 

 not have too large an entrance. Our 

 bees in the cellar have an entrance 12 by 

 J inches. If you shut bees up cntirelv. 

 tlic air in the hive will become foul, and, 

 besides, some bees will try to get out 

 at times, and when they find they can 

 not it is said they raise a hue and cry, 

 stirring up the whole community, and 

 bees should be kept just as quiet as pos- 

 sible in winter. 



Don't worry too much about seeing 

 dead bees about the hive after a warm 

 dav in winter. Bees are dying off from 

 old age all the time, and they better die 

 out of the hive than in. If a colony is 

 half as strong in spring as it was in the 

 fall, be thankful. 



.^t the time when a queen is laying — 

 you will hardly be looking for her at 

 any other time — she is quite a bit larger 

 than other bees. Her abdomen, or soft 

 hind part, is longer than her wings, 

 which is not the case with workers. 

 You will not be likely to make any mis- 

 take the first time you see her. 



In your locality, a colony may swarm 

 in the time of fruit-bloom. Rarely, how- 

 ever, until white clover is in bloom, 

 say somewhere in the first part of June. 



Yes, indeed, swarming has a big ef- 

 fect on the honey crop. If we only had 

 bees that never swarm, bee-keeping 

 would, be three times as easy. Take a 

 colony that would produce 100 pounds 

 n( honey if it didn't take a notion to 

 ■•warm, and if it swarms at right time 

 it may not produce a pound of honey, 

 To prevent all swarming is a problem 

 that is generally too much for the veter- 

 ans, and perhaps it is hardly worth 

 while for you to tackle it until you are 

 a little better seasoned. The most that 



is generally attempted is to prevent all 

 swarms after the first, which is not such 

 a diflicult matter. When the swarm 

 issues, hive it and set it on the old stand, 

 putting the old hive close up against it. 

 .\ week later, move the old hive 6 feet 

 away — farther will be better. That will 

 throw all the field-bees into the swarm, 

 weakening the mother colony so it will 

 give up further swarming. The swarm 

 will be strong, and from it you ought 

 to get your honey, if the season is good. 

 Now let me answer a question you 

 haven't asked. Yes, it will be the most 

 profitable investment you can make to 

 buy a bee-book. You will learn more 

 in one year with it than you would in 

 10 without it. Without first studying 

 some good tc.xt-book you are pretty sure 

 to make mistakes, and even with only a 

 single colony you might make a mistake 

 that would cost you twice the price of 

 a book. Yes, indeed, it will pay you well 

 to buy such a book. Then you will still 

 have plenty of questions to ask, and 

 your questions will always be welcomed 

 in this department. Success to you. 



Honey-Tea for Indigestion. 



Our good friend, Miss Sadie A. Butts, 

 sends the following, taken from the 

 Michigan Christian .\dvocate : 



"Honey ii a medicinal curative agent, with 

 bland, healing, feeding, fattening, nerve-sooth- 

 ing. propertif s of the highest value in disease." 

 So writes .\rchibald Hope, of Macclesfield, in 

 an interesting booklet just issued, entitled 

 "Honey and Health." Honey, he explains, 

 in "nature's form of sugar," and claims that 

 honey-te.". will cure indigestion, and that if 

 taken, hot an hour before meals is a remedy 

 for dyspepsia. "Honey-tea" is made by dis- 

 solving a tablespoon ful of honey in a cup of 

 freshly boiled water. The "te."." should be 

 sipped as hot as possible, three or four times 

 a day, before meals. Many types of colds, 

 cough'i and sore throats, Mr. Ilope says, may 

 be cured by honey. 



_, Education and Bee-Keeping. 



It seems that education and bees go 

 more or less together in California. 

 The following clipping concerning the 

 daughter of one of the best known bee- 

 keepers has been sent by Charles Trout^ 

 who. by the way, Is obtaining an educa- 

 tion by the production of honey: 



GETS EDUCATION BY KEEPING BEES. 



Rearing and selling queen-bees is the novel 

 way which .Miss Flora Mclntyre, a student at 

 the University of California, has adopted to 

 work her way through college. 



Miss Mclntyre is now in her senior year at 

 the university here, and will be graduated with 

 high honors with the class of 1909, next May. 

 Not only has she succeeded in paying all her 

 college expenses by rearing the queen-bees, but 

 she has a snug nest-egg for a start in life when 

 she receiver! her degree. 



Miss Mclntyre's father is a prominent bee- 

 kceiier. 



Four years ago she conceived the idea ^f 



rearing bees to pay her expenses through the 

 university. She started work and soon had a 

 large bee-farm which became more and more 

 profitable. , 



When she had realized $200 from the sale 

 of bees she came to this city and registered as 

 a freshman in the college of social sciences. 



For Whooping Cough. 



Boil down a handful of fresh crushed 

 Cor dried) haws with a pint of water, 

 and sweeten with honey. Continue to 

 take of this tea frequently throughout 

 the day, and the suffering will be pallia- 

 ted and the cure hastened.— Prak. Weg- 

 weiser. 



A Sister's Interestuig Questions. 



Dear Miss Wilson:— I have only 3 colonies 

 of bees— my first year. They have been drag- 

 ging out bees and killing them until it got 

 too cold to do so. Are they the drones, or 

 weak voung bees? ^ 



2. How long does it take to fill a super ot 

 2.'. sections, if it is a good year? 



3. Should I remove the super as soon as 



4. bo you approve of the fences between 

 sections in supers' . 



5. Do bees need water at any time? It so, 

 how do they get along in winter? 



6. Will 1909 be a good year for honey, or 

 was the white clover killed by dry weather . 



7. Is that the best for honey ? Isn t fruit- 

 bloom as good? -, .- ■ I, ., 



8 Do the bees need .my ventilation in hot 

 weather if there are 2 holes at the top of 

 the brood-chamber, also an opening at tne 

 bottom? -. « *) n.v 



Bloomington, 111. Mrs. E. P. Day. 



1 They are probably the old dead 

 bees that' thev are carrying out. A good 

 many of the old bees die during the 



winter. , , , ., 



2 It depends a good deal upon tin. 

 management. If kept very crowded it 

 might be filled in a week, and if plenty 

 of super-room is given ft may take two 

 weeks, or longer. We prefer to give 

 them plentv of room, and more time. 



3 The super should be taken off as 

 soon as finished, or even before quite 

 done if best results are obtained as to 

 whiteness of comb, and the unfinished 

 sections returned to be finished. 



4. Some prefer fences, but we pre- 

 fer the plain wood separator. But fen- 

 ces are a sort of necessity with plain 

 sections. , , . 



5. Yes, bees, use a great deal of water, 

 and h is a pretty good plan to provide 

 them a watering place in spring and 

 during the summer. In the spring if 

 warm water is given it will save a good 

 many bees that would otherwise be lost 

 by being chilled by cold winds while 

 searching for water. In winter they arc 

 not rearing brood, but remain in a partly 

 dormant condition, so get along with 

 little or no water. The vapor from the 

 bees condenses on the hive walls and 

 furnishes some water, and there is also 

 some water in the honey. 



6. Can't tell. Let us hope it will be 

 "a" good yca"f.' Likely fh-e dry weather 



has left enough white clover bloom, but 

 even with abundant bloom white clover 

 doesn't always yield nectar. 



7. Very likely white clover is the most 

 important honey-plant in your locality. 

 In some places basswood or something 

 else may be of more importance. If 

 you had only fruit-bloom to depend 

 upon, you might never have a crop of 

 honey;' but it is of great value in build- 

 ing up colonies. 



8. Yes, if the holes are large enough. 

 Bees need lots of ventilation. 



