I'.S- 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER. 



39 



TIMES ARE CHANGING, 

 ack in the early eighties of the last 

 c<tury an attempt was made to es- 

 taish "The Stingless Bee Associa- 

 tiu of America." The promoter of 

 th worthy enterprise was to collect 

 SI 00 each from those who chose to 

 xDme members, and the cash was to 

 hay his expenses to Brazil in quest 

 jfi stingless race. Much of the ro- 

 ll ice which spiced apiarian periodi- 

 :a of that day has evaporated, leav- 

 n an atmosphere of prosy facts. Fig- 

 ir ively speaking, the regulation bee 

 onal of today has simmered down 

 ohe discussion of "when to put on 

 ii:rs." 



BEE PRANKS. 

 B. Lewis Co., the "Beware" peo- 

 >li of Watertown, Wis., one of our 

 id'rtisers, have issued a unique 

 )Oclet, entitled, "Bee Pranks," in 

 vl-h is presented a number of fac 

 irle extracts of noteworthy news- 

 >a:r and trade journal extracts in 

 eird to bees. It's a "cute" thing, 

 n is interesting. We understand that 

 hi Lewis Company will mail a copy 

 re to anyone who will send them 

 htnames and addresses of five bee- 

 :e'ers. Or it will be sent for five 



BEE CULTURE. 



By Thos. Chantry, 

 the Progressive Poultry Jour- 



le profit in keeping poultry is 

 ardy due to the foraging nature of 

 hefowls, in gathering up and turn- 

 nginto eggs and meat what would 

 'tlrwise go to waste. The same 

 3 ue of the honey bee, only to a 

 :Eeter extent. There are tons, yes. 

 nayf tons, of nature's best sweet, 

 -; to waste over our pastures and 

 and prairies, because there are 



^ ees to gather up the sweetness. 



^hen I went from Mt. Vernon, 

 'Oih Dakota, in 1897, I found about 

 W( hundred colonies (or hives) of 



ee in Clay and Yankton counties, 

 capered here and there a few. When 

 ski how much honey they yielded 



than their living, many people 



i'they got a little some years, and 

 on years none. My experience soon 

 heed that there was a time, after 

 ru: bloom in May until about the 



25th of June when bees were in a 

 starving condition, as there were no 

 nectar-yielding flowers during that 

 period, and as bees are rearing thou- 

 sands and thousands of young ones 

 at that time, they soon used up their 

 supply and some actually starved to 

 death, while others ran down and 

 decreased rather than increased. To 

 overcome this, if I hau no honey to 

 feed, I placed a shallow pan or crock 

 in the super, or surplus box on top 

 of the combs or nest, and lined it 

 both inside and out with cheese cloth, 

 or an old flour sack, then made a 

 syrup of equal parts of best granu- 

 lated sugar and water and poured two 

 or three pounds into it every few days. 

 This was fed to the young ones and 

 Kept them in a strong, healthy condi- 

 tion, and when the summer flowers be- 

 gan blooming, the bees rushed out by 

 the tens of thousands and soon had 

 gathered in a nice lot of as fine honey 

 as anyone need want, while the col- 

 onies allowed to starve or run down, 

 had no bees to spare to go to the 

 fields, consequently I got an average 

 of eighty pounds surplus per colony 

 one year, while some choice colonies 

 yielded over two hundred pounds 

 each. 



The winter is a great drawback to 

 bees, if left to themselves. Some win- 

 ters they may come through without 

 loss, and so might your hens roost in 

 trees and get through all right with 

 not more loss than frosted combs and 

 a few short toes, but a bad winter and 

 not one of them would be left. It is 

 the same with the bees, but I succeed- 

 ed in saving every good, strong 

 healthy colony by putting them in any 

 cellar where potatoes would keep well. 

 Just set them with entrance in the 

 corner a foot or more from the 

 ground, one on top of the other as 

 high as you can. The entrance must 

 also be three or four inches higher 

 than the back end. Then hang any 

 old thing around them so they will 

 not get the least bit of light. Just 

 make them think it is the longest, 

 darkest night that ever was, and don't 

 disturb them by touching or jarring 

 the hives. When there is a fine, balmy 

 day in the last days of March, or first 

 of April, set them out on the same 

 stand they were on last fall, and they 

 will come out as if it was only yester- 

 day that they were carried in the 

 cellar. They should be carried in be- 



