April, 1909. 



American ^ee Journal 



123 



)^^^^"] 



Conducted by EM.M.; ii. WiLSuN. Maicujiu. lil.; 



Hoiv to Clean T-Tins. 



I am asked how to clean T-tins. I am 

 glad to be able to tell of an easy and 

 successful way to clean them without 

 scraping, for I know what it means to 

 scrape them. 



A large iron kettle, such as is used in 

 butchering hogs, is a very good vessel 

 for the purpose, for it can be used in 

 the open air and all the muss taken out- 

 doors. Fill the kettle a little more than 

 half full of water (the amount will de- 

 pend upon the number of T-tins to be 

 cleaned) ; build a good fire under it, and 

 when the water is boiling hot add 2 or 

 3 cans of concentrated lye, pouring in 

 very carefully and slowly, because the 

 lye is likely to boil over. 



Xow put in as many T-tins as the 

 kettle will hold without being too much 

 crowded, for there must be room enough 

 to move the T-fins about freely, so the 

 lye will reach all parts. This can be 

 done nicely with a four-tined pitchfork. 

 Slowly lift the tins up and down with 

 the fork, so the lye can get at all parts, 

 and the loosened propolis will be washed 

 off by the same movement. 



If the lye is strong enough a very 

 few minutes will be sufficient to clean 

 them thoroughly. Now lift them out 

 with the fork into a tub of clear rinsing 

 water, souse them up and down a few 

 times, and lift out. setting them up on 

 end in a crate or box to drain. 



The amount of water and lye used 

 must be governed by the number of tins 

 cleaned. Whenever the solution acts 

 too slowly, add more of the concentra- 

 ted lye, and water must be added, too, 

 when needed. See that the water is 

 kept hot all the time. 



I am sure you will be pleased with 

 this way of cleaning, as it is very sim- 

 ple, and the T-tins look like new after 

 their bath. 



Weai-inK I5oe-Gloves — Mud for Re- 

 moving Propolis from Finger.s. 



That always interesting Scotchman, 

 D. M. Macdonald, says in the British 

 Bee Journal, that he never wore bee- 

 gloves, and never will, but will look on 

 their use with more tolerance after 

 reading in this department that the sis- 

 ters care more for gloves as a protec- 

 tion against propolis than as a protec- 

 tion against stings. He then says : 



"By the way, I find the best efTacer of this 

 tenacious adherent is mud. A fair flow of 

 water, falling! some two feet, is available. If 

 the hanfis are 'soaped' by the rough mud and 

 cleansed under this flow it clears the propolis 

 off expeditiously, and generally most ef- 

 fectively." 



That's new. Wonder if he uses any 

 particular brand of Scotch mud, or 



whether common American mud would 

 do. 



Referring, again, Bro. Macdonald, to 

 your statement, "I never wore them 

 when manipulating bees, and never 

 will," please don't be too sure. Not a 

 thousand miles from here there was 

 once upon a time a certain bee-keeper 

 who scouted the idea of wearing bee- 

 gloves. But when his bees became cross 

 enough he was glad to don those same 

 despised gloves. Are you sure that you 

 will never have cross enough bees? 



Good Bee-Country. 



I live very near Swine Creek, in Geauga 

 Co., on the banks of which grow sweet clover, 

 spearmint, peppermint, heartsease, purple as- 

 ter, milkweed, boneset. and goldenrod. Fields 

 of alsike clover are growing near, and the 

 seeds have scattered over the pasture. White 

 clover grows wild here. Would you call this 

 a good bee-country? Ohio Bee-Woman. 



Yes; especially if alsike and white 

 clover are abundant. 



A Preacher's Mellifluous Words. 



Ill Bishop W. .\. Quayle's book, " The 

 Prairie and The Sea," page 127, occurs 

 the following passage which is as sen- 

 sible as it is beautiful : 



"And the bee-weed, swarming with bees, 

 tosses its pink blooms; and the sweet clover, 

 with its perfect musk of perfume, so sweet 

 that it is no wonder, as I walk along-side it, 

 the hum of bees is as if a hive were there 

 instead of a flower. Can that be set down 

 as a weed and a nuisance which gives daily 

 bread for the bees and honey for hot biscuits 

 on wintry mornings? These are solemn 

 thoughts, as we ministers say. And alfalfa 

 has strayed out of the field where it has 

 been fenced in, and its smell is sweet, and 

 its bloom is purple as king's robes; and I 

 forget it is grown for hay, and think it is 

 grown for perfume and poesv. God is so 

 given to blending \itility with ' .-esthetics. He 

 loves to." 



The Good Work of Two Bee-Sisters. 



Louisa C. Kennedy gives the follow- 

 ing interesting account of the work of 

 herself and sister, in Gleanings in Bee 

 Culture : 



After our father was taken from us, 10 

 years ago, my sister and I carried on the 

 apiary. That was the spring when everybody 

 lost nearly all his bees. We lost all but 18 

 queens with a mere handful of bees for 

 each — perha[)S not more than a pint of bees 

 to the tiuecn. We fed &nd built them up and 

 then divifled them until we had .35 good colo- 

 nies. That would have been a pretty good 

 honey-year if we had only had the bees to 

 gather it. As it was, we sold about $102 

 worth of honey. Since then we have had 

 some pretty good honey-years, and a good 

 many very poor ones. The poorest year we 

 sold only $81 worth of honey; tlie best, $678 

 worth. 



The greatest number of colonies we ever 

 had at any one time was 93; the fewest, 18. 

 During the T< years we have received for 

 honey sold, $.'5. 490. 99. During this time our 



expense for the apiary has been $576.66. 

 Upon the whole I think that is not so bad 

 for two women, pretty well along in years, 

 to do. During the last few years we have 

 had our brothers to help us with the heaviest 

 of the work, such as taking off honey (we 

 have always worked for comb honey) , fixing 

 up the bees for the winter, etc. 



This present year the forepart of the season 

 was so wet and cold the bees could not work. 

 When it did become dry and warm they tried 

 to make up for lost time. We got about 

 3000 sections of honey and about 600 more 

 this fall. We had 60 colonies, spring count, 

 and we now have 73 good strong ones in 

 winter quarters. 



Honey and Water-Cress Jnice for Re- 

 moving Freckles. 



Take water cresses, wash well and let 

 drain, mince fine and press. Weigh the 

 juice obtained, and mix with 1-3 of its 

 weight of honey, and filter. Each 

 morning and evening wash the freckles 

 with this solution. — L'Apiculteur. 



"Wide-Awake" Sisters? — Sure! 



G. M. Do6Iittle, page 98, says of the 

 wide-awake bee-keeper, that "he or she 

 will begin looking about to see if every- 

 thing is in readiness for the summer 

 campaign." Thanks, Bro. Doolittle, for 

 that "or she," thereby recognizing that 

 there are sisters in the craft and es- 

 pecially for classing them among the 

 "wide-awakes." 



.Appreciates His Wife. 



Mr. C. X. Wliite says in the Irish Bee 

 Journal ; 



"My successes, such as they are. I attribute 

 in great measure to my wife, and I oftcn^ wish 

 that more men were blest as I am in this re- 

 spect." 



Mr. White's case is probably not so 

 exceptional as he thinks. Not a few 

 bee-keepers are glad to give their wives 

 full credit, and others are just as much 

 indebted without saying anything about 

 it. Not that they are ungrateful, but it 

 doesn't come in handy for them to men- 

 tion it. 



Honey Egg-Nog — It's Good. 



Here are directions for a delicious 

 egg-nog, with a rich, nutty flavor, made 

 without brandy froiu an original rcc'pa 

 by the writer : 



Take the yolk of one egg, beat well. Add 

 slowly one level teaspoonful of sugar. Con- 

 tinue beating until the yolk is a light, thick 

 froth. Then add a level teaspoonful of bees' 

 honey, dropping it in while beating. Beat the 

 white of an egg to a firm froth. Pour the 

 beaten yolk into the while, gently folding it 

 in. This will make a tumblerful. 



Egg-nog made in this way is doubly rinor- 

 ishing — the honey having much the same 

 noiiirshing quality that olive-oil has. .'\t the 

 same time it is most palatable to one of weak 

 digestion, and acceptable to all of strong tem- 

 perance principles. I think any one who tries 

 it once will wish to try it again and again. — 

 .■\. V. F., Tenn., in The Delineator. 



We have tried this and it is good. 



A Sister's («ood Success — Bee-Postal 



Cards Help Sell Honey. 



Dear Miss Wilson: — I thought T would 

 have a short chat with you. f had good 

 success with my bees last summer. ft was a 

 great swarming year, but I di<l not lose a 

 swarm. I have sold over l.'iOO R««nds of 

 honey, and have 1,000 pounds yet to sell. 

 I am selling at from 11 to 12J6 cents per 

 pound. I have 51 colonics of bees put into 

 the cellar. f think the bees would have 



