66 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Mar. 2, 



weather, two bees are reared for one old 

 one lost ; while in early spring, two old 

 bees are lost to where one young bee is 

 reared. 



Now, if Mr. Miner will take live colo- 

 nies and pack them with chaff accord- 

 ing to the best approved methods, stop- 

 ping all lower ventilation entirely, and 

 take five others, and winter them ac- 

 cording to his theory advanced on page 

 42, 1 will guarantee that in two years 

 from now he will admit that upward 

 ventilation, through chaff, is the only 

 correct way to winter bees, where win- 

 tered on summer stands. 



Borodino, N. Y., Feb. 16, 1881. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Honey-Producing Plants. 



D. LANTZ. 



Mr. Editor :— Please to let us know, 

 through yourexcellent Journal, where 

 the seed of the "Rocky Mountain Bee- 

 Plant," and the "Sweet Clover Seed" 

 can be had, and also which of these two 

 seeds will produce the best feed for 

 bees; 



This is a great neighborhood for rais- 

 ing pork, and our farmers are making 

 money in the swine culture. But their 

 mode of raising pork differs very much 

 from that of most honey raisers. They 

 do not procure the best breed of swine, 

 and then turn them out to take care of 

 themselves, and find their feed as best 

 they can ; and if they succeed in gath- 

 ering a little surplus, then rob them of 

 it, and appropriate it to some other pur- 

 pose. But experience has taught the 

 pork raiser that " it pays" to plant and 

 cultivate forty or fifty acres of corn, at 

 a considerable expense every year, to 

 feed swine. It would, however be con- 

 sidered a wonderful thing if some of our 

 honey producers should be told that "it 

 would pay" if they would cultivate on- 

 ly five or six acres of land every year, 

 for the benefit of their bees! This 

 would be regarded as too great an ex- 

 pense. 



And then, the farmer that raises pork 

 has not only to give the use of a large 

 amount of land, and cultivate the corn, 

 but he must also gather it, and then be- 

 sides procuring winter quarters for the 

 swine, must feed them twice or three 

 times every day during the entire win- 

 ter. This the bee man has not to do, 

 because the, bees gather their food, and 

 also feed themselves. And yet we are 

 told sometimes, that bees "won't pay." 

 Neither would farming, or stock-rais- 

 ing, or merchandising, or banking, or 

 any other business pay, if it was man- 

 aged as many manage their bees. 



Forreston, 111., Jan. 25, 1881. 



[The sweet clover is the best, by far. 

 For where to get them, see our adver- 

 tising pages.— Ed.] 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Bee-keeping in Canada. 



WM. F. CLARKE. 



It is estimated by those best qualified 

 to judge, that there arc about 10,000 bee- 

 keepers in Canada. Only a small propor- 

 tion of these are abreast of the times. 

 The great majority are still in the dark 

 ages of bee-keeping. It is proverbial 

 that nothing is so successful as success. 

 Mr. Jones' exploits have been recorded 

 in our newspapers, and the result is 

 quite a furore in the minds of many, who 

 think they see in the mad he has trav- 

 eled so well, a sure highway to wealth. 

 I receive many letters of enquiry from 



Earties anxious to go into this line of 

 usiness. It is quite impossible for me 

 to answer them privately, but if the ed- 

 itor of the American Bub Journal 

 can find a corner for 



A CANADIAN QUESTION DRAWER, 



I will try to fill it, and henceforth ac- 

 knowledge such letters by sending a 

 a postal card to the writers with the le- 

 gend on it, "Subscribe to the American 

 Bee Journal." If present and future 

 subscribers to the Journal will write 

 me direct, theircommunications will re- 

 ceive the promptest attention compata- 

 ble with other duties. My address is 

 Listowel, Ontario. By way of making 



a beginning, I will reply to a few letters 

 in this article. 



If those I select refer almost wholly 

 to the A B C of bee-keeping, it must 

 not be inferred that all are of this char- 

 acter, but only that these most urgently 

 call for immediate attention. 



OLD STYLE BEE-KEEPING. 



" We have 45 hives of bees, and have 

 been keeping them in the old fashioned 

 way, that is, in the old box hive, and 

 then after the swarming season is over, 

 put on a smaller box called a 'cap,' on 

 the top of the hive. Wheu a colony 

 does not do well, we smother it and take 

 the honey. Now what I want to know 

 is this — what kind of hive would you 

 suggest ?" 



Keeping bees in the old box hive is 

 entirely out of date, and the sooner it is 

 abandoned the better. The difficulty 

 with it is that you cannot regulate the 

 internal economy of a colony, but must 

 leave the bees to do pretty much as they 

 please. Bees need management, the 

 same as cattle, poultry, sheep, hogs, or 

 any other kind of farm stock. What 

 profit would there be from any of the 

 live stock of the farm if they were left 

 to themselves '( Very little. Precisely 

 so with bees. You must have access to 

 them and control over them, or bee- 

 keeping will prove a very unsatisfacto- 

 ry business. The main things about a 

 hive are to have it of convenient size, 

 and made on 



THE MOVABLE FRAME PRINCIPLE. 



These two points observed, the sim- 

 pler a hive is the better. I have tried 

 hives of all sorts and sizes ; the result 

 is. that I have found the most compli- 

 cated and costly ones the most worth- 

 less. A hive costing about a dollar, un- 

 painted, and without section frames, or 

 a dollar and a half, painted or sectioned, 

 is good enough for me, or for any com- 

 mon sense bee-keeper who has an eye 

 to profit in bee-keeping. Such may 

 be ordered as a pattern , and others made 

 from it, or a quantity can be bought in 

 the flat at a reduced rate, and nailed to- 

 gether by any man who has sense 

 enough to use a hammer. 



To adopt a hive of this kind, the bees 

 must be transferred from the old box 

 hives. How to do this is told in the 

 bee books, and no man who keeps 45 col- 

 onies of bees, or a single colony, for 

 that mttter, can afford to do without a 

 good manual of apiculture. The cost 

 of such a book is trifling when compar- 

 ed with its value and utility. 



BEE-KEEPING AS A SPECIALTY. 



"Farming is too hard work for me. I 

 must engage in some business that will 

 keep me out of doors, as my health is 

 not good ; therefore I think bee-keeping 

 will oe just the employment for me. 

 How long would it take a person of 

 ordinary intelligence to become capable 

 of managing 200 colonies ( Of course I 

 intend to study thoroughly books that I 

 will need to make me an expert at the 

 business, but I know I will need a great 

 deal of experience, study as much as I 

 may, before I can become a good bee- 

 keeper." 



In reply to this, let my say very dis- 

 tinctly, that bee-keeping is a business 

 which, like any other, demands an ap- 

 prenticeship in order to run it properly. 

 At the outset, the question should be 

 raised,— -have I taste, aptitude and gen- 

 eral qualification for it V "Every man 

 can't be a poet," nor can every man be 

 a successful bee-keeper. This question 

 settled, the next thing is to master the 

 principles of apiculture. This can be 

 done by the study of books. Then 

 comes experience, which can only be 

 got by handling bees. As a general 

 rule, it is best to begin bee-keeping with 

 one or two colonies. This does not in- 

 volve much outlay, and if there should 

 be failure at first, as it is very likely 

 there will, the loss is not serious. I can- 

 not say how long it would take a person 

 of ordinary intelligence to become ca- 



fable of managing a 200 colony apiary, 

 think if he spent two seasons witli a 

 first-class practical bee-keeper he might 

 venture. I also feel safe in saying that 

 if he begins with one or two colonies, 

 by the time they multiply to 200, he will 

 be master of the situation. 



If a man has capital to invest, and can 

 hire a thoroughly competent bee-keep- 



er, it might be safe to start on a large 

 scale, but it is with bee-keeping as with 

 farming in general. 



' He that hy the plow would thrive. 

 Himself must either holil or drive." 



THE BEE SMOKER. 



" Of what use is the smoker, spoken 

 of in articles about bees ?" 



This enquirer evidently neither owns 

 a manual of apiculture nor takes a bee- 

 journal. He will be wise to do both im- 

 mediately, or sooner. A smoker is used 

 to tame bees, in order that they may be 

 handled easily. It is a pair of small 

 bellows, with fire-box and funnel at- 

 tached, so made that it can be worked 

 with one hand. Smoke, properly ap- 

 plied, has the effect of quieting the iras- 

 cible little insects. 



FREEZING BEES. 



"I wish to know whether bees should 

 be let freeze in winter V" 



No. They should not even be allowed 

 to get chilled. They should be kept in 

 a temperature a little above the freezing 

 point. Then their natural warmth will 

 keep them sufficiently comfortable, and 

 they will relapse into a state of seini- 

 torpor, remain very still, consume little 

 food and stand a long winters' confine- 

 ment without inconvenience. This may 

 be secured by chaff-packing the hives 

 out of doors, or setting them in a double 

 walled house, the space between the 

 walls being filled witli cut straw, chaff, 

 sawdust or tan bark. In a climate like 

 that of Canada, the space between the 

 double walls should be at least 20 inches. 

 Our winter bee houses failed at first be- 

 cause the walls were too thin. They 

 did very well in mild winter weather, 

 but when a hard cold spell came, the 

 frost crept through and stayed inside, to 

 the destruction of the bees. Some have 

 had good success by wintering their 

 bees in a dry cellar, but it is not so easy 

 to secure perfect seclusion of light and 

 the desirable quiet in a cellar, as in a 

 house built for the purpose. 



For the American Bee Journal. 



Dovetailed vs. One-Piece Sections. 



JAMES HEDDON. 



From the tone of Mr. Kegel's com- 

 munication in the Bee Journal of 

 Feb. 16th, I must think him honest in 

 his opinions about sections. I know, for 

 my own part, that no interest I ever had 

 in any article prejudiced me an iota for 

 or against it. Of course, I give Mr. 

 Riegel the same credit I ask for myself, 

 more especially after reading his gen- 

 tlemanly and enthusiastic article. It 

 has always been my idea that behind 

 enthusiasm lies honesty, if nothing 

 more. 



Allowing that we are strong believers 

 in the claims we advocate, the next 

 point to settle is the question of who is 

 right. Mr. Iiiegel's method is surely a 

 novel one, and I do not see what is to 

 hinder our making the "premium" 

 $1,000, so long as we risk nothing, and 

 provided the National Convention do 

 not object. I see no reason why they 

 should, unless it depends upon the little 

 matter of the $1,000. But, really, is it 

 not a better test to wait, and see which 

 goes into general use V This will give 

 us the honest decision of thousands of 

 practical bee-keepers, instead of ten 

 "picked "ones. We can remember and 

 wait ; can we not ? 



1 do not want your $10, nor the Na- 

 tional Association to have it, without 

 some equivalent. A wager would prove 

 nothing, but to show our earnestness in 

 the matter. I believe nearly or quite 

 every reader of the I5ee Journal will 

 give us credit for that virtue, and we can 

 keep our pocket-books out of this con- 

 troversy. 



The spruce sections 1 had reference 

 to are of my own style. Have you used 

 them, Mr. Riegel V I have used only a 

 few of the Root and Lewis & Parks 

 one-piece sections. Now, 1 wish to say 

 that I have never seen a one-piece sec- 

 tion that, when doubled together, the 

 joints did not shut so loosely as to make 

 a weak, rickety box, or so tightly as to 

 strain the thin shaving that held the 

 parts together, which, after a while, 

 cracked apart; generally, the former 

 objection — or both — at different corners. 



In a back number, the editor of the 

 Bee Journal said that nailed sections 

 were preferable, because they were 

 stronger than those dovetailed. There 

 are times when combs of honey need 

 the support of a strong section ; a sec- 

 tion that will yield }' s of an inch will 

 injure those combs materially at such 

 times. The great majority of one-piece 

 sections have this rickety condition, so 

 far as I have seen them. 



Again, is it possible to make machine- 

 ry so true that you can make a one-piece 

 section, or cut pieces to be nailed, so 

 that when squared up into boxes they 

 will be square ? I think not ; I have 

 never seen it done. The dovetailed 

 boxes can be pressed square instantly. 



I have never seen any dovetail work, 

 except this spruce New England box, in 

 which the dovetailing was tiyht enough 

 to make it as strong as nailed. I am 

 not prejudiced in its favor because I 

 adopted it ; I adopted it because I was 

 prejudiced in its favor. It is no blood 

 relation of mine, only a child by adop- 

 tion, and I can cast it off any hour and 

 take the one-piece section to my bosom, 

 and I win, when I think as Mr. R. does. 



A section that is as solid as a nailed 

 one, and has the advantage of thin 

 pieces all around, and the still further 

 advantage that you press it to any angle, 

 right, acute of obtuse, and it is solid the 

 same, is the section "I prefer." 



i 



3 r 



About the " naughty" little sharp cor- 

 ners," can you not see them in the above 

 cut? Do you not see how they will 

 snag the^apsof the combs next to them? 

 If separators were used they would not ; 

 but if no corners are there they will 

 not, where no separators are used. We 

 cut up three boxes of tin into separa- 

 tors, and watched the effects closely for 

 two years, and these separators are bet- 

 ter adapted to some supply dealer who 

 can " grind " his ax with them. We use 

 them to patch knot-holes, etc. I sup- 

 pose if the one-piece section was (as it 

 can be) made without the corners (i.e., so 

 the narrow piece would extend clear 

 through), that the warping of the wide 

 pieces would all the worse break the 

 shaving that holds them together. I 

 think, of the two evils, the least one is 

 chosen by putting on the " naughty cor- 

 ners," as shown in the cut. 



I have mailed to Mr. Riegel a sample 

 section such as I use, and trust it and 

 time will convince bee-keepers that I 

 am right. If to the contrary, that I am 

 wrong, then I will say, " I was mista- 

 ken ; that is all." 



Dowagiac, Mich., Feb. 18, 1881. 



For the American Bee Journal 



Best Hives for Winter. 



henry alley. 



The present winter will demonstrate 

 whether single-wall or double- wall hives 

 are the best for wintering bees on sum- 

 mer stands. I am inclined to the opin- 

 ion that double hives are the best. I 

 have both kinds in use, and as my bees 

 are on the Bummer stands, I am able to 

 say which are doing the best. 



I examined a few of each the other 

 day. I found that the inner sides of the 

 single hives were very frosty, though 

 the bees and frames were covered with 

 a chaff cushion 4 inches thick ; but the 

 bees were in fair condition. Those in 

 the double-wall hives were free from 

 frost, nice and dry. The double hives 

 are exactly like Root's chaff hive, only 

 no chaff is used between the inner and 

 outer walls. This style hive was made 

 by me 15 years ago. I see no need of 

 filling the space between the hives with 

 chaff. A dead-air space is all that is 

 needed. It would seem like nonsense 

 to build a house with walls 10 feet thick, 

 and leave the doors open during the 

 winter. Now, that is exactly the case 

 with chaff hives. I further noticed 

 about the single hives, that where the 

 snow was piled against them, the mois- 

 ture condensed there, and considerable 

 more frost was opposite those places 

 where the snow touched the wood than 

 in other parts of the hive. With the 

 double hives that was not the case. 



I am inclined to think that double 

 hives are the best to winter in on the 



