762 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



them. Our bee-yard is partly shaded with 

 apple-trees well trimmed out aud up, so 

 that most of our hives have partial shade. 

 We appreciate this when working among 

 them in a hot day, and see no difference 

 with them as to those fully shaded and 

 some mostly in the sun ; out of the 42 in 

 good condition, only 7 cast a swarm, and a 

 part of these were among the most shaded 

 portion; therefore, we concluded that 

 shade or shine made but little difference 

 * with the swarming fever. 



We spread the brood (not too early) in 

 the spring, and keep on spreading until the 

 10 frames are in. We also give sections 

 just before the clover begins to bloom. We 

 want all the bees we can get in the hive at 

 all times, then keep them busy during the 

 harvest time, with room to spare at all 

 times, below as well as above. 



We have tried the Doolittle toji-hive 

 queen-rearing plan, but no more of that for 

 me. Nary a queen did I get fertilized. We 

 have for years taken the first colonies that 

 swarmed, and divided them up into nuclei, 

 about four days after the old swarm left; 

 then built these up. or "jumped" them 

 later on with a strong colony. In this way 

 we have no fuss of introducing queens, and 

 are all the time using the best working 

 blood for future posterity. 



I want bees for business, not for beauty, 

 so please exuse me for not wanting any of 

 your all-yellow, five-banded, lazy, no-sting 

 kind. We have tried them to our satisfac- 

 tion, and loss of time and cash. 



Chester Belding. 



Middletown, N. Y. 



A Bee-Keeper for 65 Years. 



Friend York:— I have had 65 years, ex- 

 perience in the bee-business. Perhaps you 

 will say, as others have said to me, " How 

 old are you?'' my answer is this : I was 

 born on July 20, 1814. If I reckon rightly, 

 I will be 80 years old my'next birthday. I 

 have kept bees since I was 14 years old, and 

 have been through all of the changes in the 

 business. I have kept bees in six different 

 States, namely: New York. Vermont, 

 Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia aud 

 Wisconsin. So you can see that I have had 

 some experience in the business. 



I have 186 colonies in good condition now. 

 Thej" are out to-day (Nov. 8th) having a nice 

 flight. I keep one-half in chaff-packed 

 hives, and the balance in single-walled 

 hives. I have a good cellar for the colonies 

 in single-walled hives. My average surplus 

 honey crop this year was 2'l0 pounds, spring* 

 count, with 4 more increase than the spring 

 count. All have plenty of honey for winter. 



I had one colony that I kept a record of. 

 I extracted from it 300 pounds, got 50 

 IDounds of nice comb honey in sections, and 

 by dividing I made (> new colonies from it, 

 that are in fine condition for winter. I sold 

 the extracted honey for 9 cents a pound, 

 the comb honey for 15 cents, aud the 6 new 

 colonies at >;:3.00 apiece. The sum total is 

 $52.50. Who has done better than that?" 

 The above are actual figures. 



1 have taken the Bee Journal nearly all 



of the time since it was first published in 

 Washington, D. C, in 1861. I read all the 

 bee-literature that I can find, so you can 

 see that I am not a greenhorn at the busi- 

 ness. I claim that I can manage and 

 handle bees as well as any one. I can 

 furnish proof of my statements made here. 

 I handle as many bees as any one in this 

 State, or any other State, as I have made 

 a specialty of it for 40 years. I do nothing 

 but handle bees during the season. 



I could write a large volume on bee- 

 culture, from my own experience, that 

 would be of great value to beginners in the 

 business ; but I do not want to undertake 

 it, as I am nearly through here, as three 

 score years and 10 is alloted unto man, but 

 by reason of strength he may i-each four 

 score ; and as I have but a few days left 

 until that time, it is too late in life to com- 

 mence to do it. S. T. Crandall. 



Hartford City, Wis. 



Curing Bee-Paralysis by Feeding. 



In regard to the disease of Mr. Novice's 

 bees, as described by him on page 630, I de- 

 sire to say that it is what I call " bee-paral- 

 ysis." His description of the disease in its 

 many phases corresponds exactly with my 

 experience. By reference to page 16, of the 

 Bee Journal for July 6, 1893, it will be 

 seen that I gave it, as my opinion, that the 

 trouble is a contagious disease, and gave 

 my experience in proof of my opinion. The 

 spread of the disease in Mr. N.'s apiary, as 

 described by him, is confirmatory of "that 

 opinion as there given. 



As a remedy, or the most successful one 

 that I have found, is to keep the queen of 

 the diseased colony actively at work. I do 

 this by feeding regularly in stimulating 

 quantities, if honey is not coming in, until 

 the disease disappears, which is usually in 

 a week or ten days, though I have known 

 it to hold on several months. I, like Mr. 

 N., tried the salt remedy to no effect, but I 

 believe that stimulative feeding will save 

 nine-tenths of the diseased colonies. In my 

 experience with the disease, I have not lost 

 a single colony that was treated in the 

 stimulating way. 



It is well enough to say here, that in the 

 nature of things (or the Providence, if you 

 like), but few bees, comparatively speaking, 

 are required to go through the winter, and 

 preserve the species, and if we find large 

 numbers dying from strong colonies in the 

 late fall, we should not always be alarmed, 

 or think our bees diseased. In this, Nature 

 may only be doing her usual work. » 



Sneedville, Tenn. H. P. Coleman. 



Difficulties in Marketing- Honey. 



There are some things in the item on 

 page 617, in regard to marketing the honey 

 crop, that I can't understand. How can 

 one man get the price given for his crop, 

 with perhaps .5(t others with equally good 

 crops that will not do the canvassing re- 

 quired, but will find what lionej' is worth 

 in the general market, and offer to neigh- 



