THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 6, 



and strong. The colony mentioned at the beginning of this 

 article was evidently queeuless. It is quite probable that in 

 September, when the honey was removed, the bees were suffi- 

 ciently numerous to make a fair show, but it is also certain 

 that a closer examination of the colony than was given to it 

 while the honey was being extracted, would have brought out 

 the fact that it was fast dwindling, and that the bees were 

 already discouraged. A large number of eggs laid at its door, 

 or on the outside of its combs, during the last days of Septem- 

 ber by the moths produced the result mentioned. 



To this state of things there is no remedy ; the proper 

 thing would have been to examine the hives more closely dur- 

 ing the summer, to make sure of replacing the failing queens. 



The most disagreeable feature of the existence of the 

 moth appears when the first crop of honey has been removed 

 from the hives. If moths are plentiful, and especially if a 

 few of them have managed to invade the bee-house, those 

 nice white sections begin to leak aud show traces of their 

 disgusting paths. There is only one way to avoid this. Burn 

 brimstone in the bee-house or under those crates of comb 

 honey once a week, or about, until you may feel sure that the 

 moths have been destroyed. The fumes of the sulphur will 

 not destroy the eggs, and for that reason several repetitions 

 of the fumigation are necessary. The extent of the fumiga- 

 tion needed may be ascertained by the house-flies in the room. 

 A fumigation that will kill them will also destroy the living 

 moths. 



To make the burning of brimstone more thorough and 

 more easy, we melt it over a stove, and dip strips of rags or 

 gunny in the molten sulphur. These act as a wick, aud the 

 brimstone burns more promptly and more evenly than other- 

 wise. Hancock Co., III., Nov. 27, 1897. 



No. 1 — Recollections of an Old Bee-Keeper. 



BY DR. E. GALLUP. 



I will endeavor to show the readers of the American Bee 

 Journal the difference in starting in bee-keeping when I com- 

 menced and in starting now. I was born in the year 1820, in 

 what is now called "Canada East," or Province of Quebec, 

 65 mi!;s north of Vermont, and about 75 miles east of Mont- 

 real, on the St. Francis river. I mention this to show you 

 that I was located in a far different climate from California. 



Prom ray earliest recollections I took a great and absorb- 

 ing interest in bees. My father kept a few colonies at differ- 

 ent times, but had no luck with them. In those days every 

 success or failure was attributed to " luck." There were no 

 books ou bees to be had. In fact, I never heard of such a 

 thing until I was about 23 years old. Father built a flouring- 

 mill and sawmill when I was 15, and by an accident, or my 

 luck, I was installed miller. The mill was located three miles 

 from the home farm, so I coaxt and teased father to let me 

 purchase a colony of bees. He finally reluctantly consented, 

 as he said there was no luck in bees at all. 



The ruling price of a colony of bees was .$2.50. There 

 was a widow that I was acquainted with that had a lucky 

 colony. She was very anxious to get some lumber, and I was 

 just a' anxious to get her lucky bees, so after bantering with 

 her for several weeks, she finally consented to let me have her 

 lucky colony for §7.00 worth of lumber, at cash price, which 

 was .$2.50 per 1,000 feet. Well, I moved the bees quick with- 

 out consulting father, for fear she would change her mind. 



Father was terribly workt up to think that I had been so 

 foolish as to pay such a price for a colony of worthless bees, 

 as he called them, but I consoled myself with the thought that 

 I had not only got her bees, but her luck also. Well, as it 

 turned out, she lost all her bees — some seven colonies — the 

 following winter, and I got two good swarms and a box of 

 about 20 pounds of nice honey. Then didn't I proudly boast 

 of my trade in getting the lady's luck ! 



My bees all came through the winter in good condition, 

 but the lucky colony always did the best. The idea of luck 

 was never thoroughly establisht in my noddle, so I began to 

 study the whys and wherefores. 



That lucky colony was in an old-fashioned straw-skep, as 

 It was then called, and it being circular and smallish at the 

 top, every comb except one small one at one side was worker- 

 comb. Bees were all wintered on the summer stands, which 

 was usually an open shed facing the south or southeast. They 

 were confined to the hives from the first of November until 

 April 15, or thereabouts, and sometimes until the first of May. 

 No one had thought of wintering bees in a cellar. The straw 

 being porous, there would be no accumulation of frost from 

 the breath of the bees in cold weather in the hive, and we 

 frequently had cold weather, oftentimes 40^ below zero for 



six and eight days in succession. Then we would lose our 

 bees in box-hives. I lost all but my lucky colony several 

 times. I would shut my box-hives up, all except some small 

 notches cut in the bottom at one side for entrance. My idea 

 was to keep them warm. 



I had an aunt get married, and settled across the river 

 from the mill, and she was a great bee-keeper, that is, she 

 could rattle tin pans and ring bells when they swarmed, and 

 compel them to cluster, and then she could hive them without 

 getting slung, etc. Well, she would make hives with a hand- 

 saw, hammer and nails out of rough hemlock lumber, set 

 them on toi. of a large stump, without any bottoui-board, and 

 place a large stone on top to keep the wind from blowing the 

 hive off. The stump being cut uneven, it left plenty o/ bot- 

 tom ventilation. Finally, she had one hive that crackt open 

 from top to bottom, and the crack opened fully three-fourths 

 of an inch at the edge of the combs, so we could look right in 

 on the bees. I felt almost sure that colony would freeze to 

 death, so when the mercury would get down to 35-^ aQd402, 



Dr. E. Gallup— From a recent photograph. 



I would go over and see how they were getting on. I could 

 hear them roar and hum several rods off. I have stood and 

 watcht them many times until I would get so cold that I could 

 stand it no longer. 



The bees on the inside of the cluster were all the time 

 rushing to the outside for air, while those on the outside were 

 rushing to the inside for warmth. There was a plain case of 

 manufacturing warmth by activity, or, as we might say, 

 electricity. They were a perfect dynamo. That colony win- 

 tered the best in the lot. My bees, that I kept warm, nearly 

 all died that winter. Orange Co., Calif. 



[To be continued.] 



Langstrotll on tlie Honey-Bee, revised by 

 The Dadants, is a standard, reliable and thoroughly complete 

 work on bee-culture. It contains 520 pages, and is bound 

 elegantly. Every reader of the American Bee Journal should 

 have a copy of this book, as it answers hundreds of questions 

 that arise about bees. We mail it for $1.25, or chib it with 

 the Bee Journal for a year — both together for only $2.00. 



Every Present Subscriber of the Bee Journal 

 should be an agent for it, and get all others possible to sub- 

 scribe for it. See offers on page 11. 



