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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



CONDUCTED BY 



Floyd, Hunt Co., Tex. 



Introductory Remarks. 



Friends :— Before taking up this 

 work, I wish to say that I have been 

 repeatedly urged to start a bee-paper, 

 but, after due consideration, I concluded 

 that it was best and safest not to do so. 

 Having already been permitted "to 

 ride" a little way upon "journalistic 

 waters," I find that many times "the 

 sea " is rough. Therefore, I have made 

 arrangements to ride in one of the old, 

 reliable, trustworthy and well-tried 

 "boats" — the American Bee Journal 

 — and I shall feel much safer there, 

 than in a " new boat" of our own. And 

 then, I had rather let Bro. York lose the 

 sleep — don't you see ? 



Now, dear Southern bee-keeping 

 friends, let us try to make our depart- 

 ment interesting to all alike, and " know 

 no North, no South," etc., but as we 

 know where ihere is union there is 

 strength, so with the best ability I have, 

 I expect to give you bits of bee news and 

 items of interest weekly, and with the 

 help of our Southern bee-friends I trust 

 we shall make our department a success. 

 Jennie Atchlet. 



Hand-Picked Drones — Simp. Hives. 



Bee-Notes by the Way. 



If Your Think that bees can't hear, 

 just hold a frame before you, and hollow 

 loud, and watch them "squat." You 

 need not let your breath strike them, 

 either. 



Dr. Miller, in " Stray Straws." seems 

 yet not to know why bees swarm. Why, 

 Doctor, they swarm just because they 

 want to. 



I Wonder Where Bro. E. France is 

 going to get $140 to pay rent on his 

 560 colonies of bees this year, as he 

 gets no honey at all. Oh, well, I guess 

 " where there's a will there's a way." 



Our Next Week's Subject will be 

 about bee-caves in Texas, and mistaken 

 ideas, etc. Southern bee-friends, give 

 us your aid, and along with your articles 

 send us some subscribers. Let us spread 

 our American Bee Journal all over 

 Texas and the South. 



Mr. C. V. Mann, of Riverton, Ills., 

 has asked me to answer the following 

 questions : 



1. What is meant by " hand-picked 

 drones ?" 



2. Why do you prefer the Simplicity 

 hive, and only 8 frames ? 



To the first question I would say that I 

 mean by " hand-picked drones," just the 

 same as hand-picked apples. When I 

 wish to get the best looking ones, I go 

 to my drone hives, lift out the frames, 

 and with my hands I pick out the very 

 yellowest drones, put them in a large 

 cage, take them to the " mating yards," 

 and place them in a nucleus. You see, 

 the drones from any queen are not all 

 marked just alike, hence I " hand-pick " 

 for the bsst. 



To the second question let me say that 

 I use the Simplicity hive just because I 

 like it best, and 8 frames are plenty for 

 queen-rearing, besides being much 

 lighter than the old 10-frame hive. 

 Again, I find the majority perfer nuclei 

 made of the Langstroth frame. I do 

 not raise a "hive war" with any one, 

 for I know that the hive does not cut as 

 large a figure in the case of the bee- 

 keeper, as does the one that operates 

 the hive. Any good, movable-frame 

 hive, not too large or too small, is all 

 right ; but, it is best to use a uniform 

 frame. 



Migratory Bee-Keeping, Etc. 



I have learned that moving bees from 

 one field to another does not pay here, 

 as a rule, unless the flow is a failure, and 

 you can get to where honey is more 

 plentiful. What I am striking at is 

 this : If you have a good flow of honey 

 at home, for two or three weeks, then at 

 once move to where the bees can have 

 another two weeks' flow at once, it will 

 not pay here, as the bees are so reduced 

 that they are not sufficiently strong to 

 gather much honey. But, should the 

 bees have time to recuperate before 

 moving, it will pay. Remember, that 

 brood-rearing almost entirely stops here 

 when we have a flow of honey, is why 

 they reduce. 



Dr. Miller asks this in his "Stray 

 Straws" in Gleanings: "Do laying 

 workers ever exist in a hive where you 

 find sealed worker brood ?" Yes, Doc- 

 tor, lots of times. 



