THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



283 



the comb. Mow, wliile lioldinR the 

 comb in your hands, (but do not let 

 your breath strike the bees), wliistlea 

 prolonged, keen whistle with the lips, 

 sing a familiar stanza in loud tones, 

 blow a loud horn or give a prolonged 

 loud tone in any way, and observe the 

 death-like stillness of your little liear- 

 ers, and notice liow quickly they all 

 resume business when the noise ceases, 

 and how quickly all hands " let up " 

 again when the music begins ; and 

 say not again that we all know tliey 

 do not notice a loud noise about their 

 hives. 



These experiments can be made 

 without removing the combs, if yon 

 have an observatory hive. I can pre- 

 sent many other reasons for believing 

 (knowing), that bees do heai ; but 

 perhaps the above are sufficient for 

 the present. 



Liverpool. ©III. 



P"ar tlie AmenciLii Bee Journal. 



Essentials to Success in Bee-Ciiltare. 



OSCAR F. BLEDSOE. 



A great many on a sui)erHcial view, 

 are fascinated with bee-keeping as a 

 pursuit, with the impression that the 

 labor is light, the pleasures connected 

 with it unalloyed, the remuneration 

 great in proportion to labor, etc., etc., 

 and raking up what spare cash is on 

 hand, rush into it with all the zeal of 

 a novice. I would say to all such, 

 " Make haste slowly ;" if you have a 

 decided case of bee-fever and cannot 

 rid yourself of it, I would say, pitch 

 in, but don't go faster than your 

 knowledge. 15ee-keepiug requires 

 deep study and thought, nice me- 

 chanical skill, great industry and 

 careful attention to details, indomi- 

 table perseverance, and at times, a 

 high degree of faith— that faith which 

 is "the substance of things hoped 

 for, the evidence of things not seen." 



Bee-keeping will not do to depend 

 on for a support until j'ou have 

 mastered it and know exactly what 

 you are doing. It is better as a side- 

 issue where one can look for his main 

 support elsewhere. I would lay down 

 the following rules as, in my expe- 

 rience, the best for guidance in this 

 pursuit : 



1. In the beginning, do not spend 

 too much money— be content with 

 small things— supply yourself freely 

 with bee-books and literature — do not 

 be economical on this point ; then get 

 a few colonies of black bees to be 

 Italianized afterwards, and read and 

 observe. xVIake your own hives; 

 beware at tirst of the enticing circu- 

 lars of supply-dealers ; make the bees 

 pay their way— let them be creditors, 

 not debtors, and you will find if you 

 act on this rule, they will supply you 

 with what you need in their manage- 

 ment and give you a surplus besides. 



2. Study the subject thoroughly. 

 Bee-keeping is a highly intellectual 

 pursuit. It brings you into close com- 

 munion with the mysteries of Nature 

 and with the God of Nature. There 

 are many theories connected with it 

 and much chaff given forth. The 



mind has to cast off all this, and with 

 nice discrimination arrive at the 

 essential truth. Vou <;annot read 

 and observe too much ; let your mind 

 become fully saturated with the sul)- 

 ject. and you will thus become " thor- 

 oughly furnished," not only unto 

 abundant success in the pursuit, but 

 you will find that you will achieve 

 great intellectual improvement gen- 

 erally. Bee-keeping is an educator, 

 and this is one of its chief fascina- 

 tions to me. I can approach other 

 branches of knowledge more success- 

 fully from having thoroughly analyzed 

 this. 



3. Adopt Italian bees, for in their 

 purity they are superior to any race 

 yet discovered. In your hives, adopt 

 a plain, movable-frame hive. Avoid 

 any kind of hive or system calling for 

 too much manipulation and manage- 

 ment. The bees muSt be examined 

 often enough with, the simplest hive. 

 and should for their good be let alone, 

 except where it is absolutely necessary 

 to manipulate ; besides, it is economy 

 not to interfere too much. Let '• cheap 

 Italian labor" do your work as far as 

 possible: only on this principle can 

 you conduct large apiaries. 



In conclusion [ will say that as to 

 profit, bee-keeping will, if conducted 

 cautiously, surel^' pay moderately, at 

 least, and in many cases it will pay 

 largely. 



Greiiada. 5 Miss. 



For the American Bee Journii. 



Con?eiiieiices for me AjiaiT. 



W. M. CHAPEL. 



I keep my bees away from home in 

 two or more localities, and visit them 

 daily, which necessitates moving 

 twice a year — out in the spring and 

 home in"the fall. I use the Lewis'- 

 Improved Langstroth-Simplicity hive 

 with tight bottom-boards, or I make 

 them so. To prepare the hives for 

 moving the bees. I have originated 

 a very cheap device which is made as 

 follows : 



Plain a lath on all sides, cut off a 

 piece long enough to reach the full 

 width of the hive-portico inside ; cut 

 a notch on one side 8 inches long and 

 J^-inch deep, and nail over it a piece 

 of wire screen ; on the opposite side 

 in the centre, cut. a notch % of an 

 inch deep by % or % of an inch long 

 and place it in the portico with screen 

 down on the side next to the hive. 

 Drive in a small wedge at one end to 

 tigliten it and keep it in place, and 

 the bees are ready for transportation, 

 with plenty of ventilation. Take out 

 the wedge at the end, turn it upside 

 down, keeping the screen next to the 

 hive, and the entrance is contracted 

 any size desired. I have used these 

 successfully in the spring and in the 

 fall to retain heat and prevent rob- 

 bing. I can, by the use of these, 

 prepare a load of bees for transporta- 

 tion in a few minutes at any time. 



Another implement which I have 

 devised from necessity, is a frame- 

 holder, which I make of hard wood, 

 it being stronger for the size of pieces. 



I take two pieces 21 inches long by 

 l}^x% inches, bore J^-inch holes in 

 both ends of each piece for side 

 pieces ; then take two more like 

 pieces, 12 or 18 inches long, as desired, 

 and bore them the same way. Xow 

 take four pieces 12 inches long, tlie 

 same size, cut round tenons on one 

 end of each to fit the holes snugly. 

 Place the end-pieces on the top of the 

 sides, run the tenon through the holes 

 on each corner, and it makes a frame 

 with four legs that will hold 8 or 10 

 frames. Thiscanbemade totiLany size 

 of frame. Pull out the legs and it falls 

 to pieces, which, being tied with a 

 string, occupy very little space. 



I found it a necessity to have some 

 sort of a tool-bo* in which to carry 

 manipulating tools, which I con- 

 structed of J^-inch boards, except the 

 ends and cover which are made of %- 

 inch lumber. The box is 9J^xl0xi;{ 

 inches, in which I can carry a large 

 smoker and fuel for it, hammer and 

 nails of all sizes, some wire-screen, 

 tin shears, veil, brush-broom, screw- 

 driver to open covers and other pieces 

 stuck down with propolis, a comb 

 scraper which I had made of steel by 

 drawing it out into a blade similar to 

 a putty-knife, though much stronger 

 and larger, being 6 inches long and 2 

 inches wide at the end of the blade, 

 which is square and drawn to an edge. 

 The other end is narrower on which 

 is riveted a piece of wood on each side 

 for a handle, similar to a butcher- 

 knife. This implement will scrape 

 off propolis or old comb, wax, etc. It 

 is the best of any I ever used. 



This tool-box I have found to be of 

 the greatest convenience, as I have 

 all the tools necessary at hand at all 

 times and places, and can repair and 

 put to right anything about the apiary 

 on short notice, as I always carry it 

 with me. 



Kingston,© Wis. 



Convention Notices. 



B^~ The annual meeting of the Northern Ohio 

 Bee-Keepera' Association will be held in the New 

 Town Iliiil at Wellington. O.. on Kriday. April 30, 

 18H0. AH are invited to corae and help make the 

 meeting both pleasant and profitable. A special 

 invitation is extended to the ladies. The officera 

 of the Association will be elected at this meeting. 

 H. R. BOAKD.^IAN, Sec, 



%W The next meeting of the Linwood Bee- 

 Keepers' Association will be held in Oondit's Hall 

 at Bock Elm. Wis., on Saturday. May I, 18S6, at I 

 p.m. All interested in hee-keepinsr are cordially 

 invited to attend and make this a profitable meet- 

 ing. B. J. Tho.mpson. Sec. 



t^ff~ The lUinois Central Bee-Keepers' 

 Associatiou will hold its ne.vt meeting at 

 Mt. Sterling, Ills., on Tuesday and Wednes- 

 day, Oct. in and 20, 1880. 



.1. M. H.iJIBAUGn, Sec. 



System and Success. 



y^~ All who intend to be systematic in 

 tlieir work in the apiary, should fret a copy of 

 the Apiary Register and commence to use it. 

 The prices are as follows : 



For .50 colonies (120 pages) $100 



" 100 colonies (220 pag-es) 125 



" 200 colonies (-120 pages) 150 



The larger ones can be used for a few col- 

 onies, give room for an increase of numbers 

 and still keep the record all together in one 

 book, and are therefore the most desirable. 



