Publisht Weekly at 118 Michigan St. 



George W. York, Editor. 



¥1.00 a Year— Sample Copy Free. 



38th Year. 



CHICAGO, ILL., MARCH 3, 1898. 



No. 9. 



Hive Entraaces — Co-operation for Bee-Keepers 



BY DR. O. C. MASTIN. 



The advantage of large entraaces has been referred to in 

 the bee-papers several times lately. A report of my experi- 

 ence the past season may be of value to others. 



I began the season with six colonies, in movable-frame 

 hives, the entrances of which were very small — not more than 

 3^ the width of the hives, and about }i of an inch deep. 

 Having decided to give the Danzenbaker hive a trial, I pur- 

 chast 11 of them, and as the season advanced, lookt anxiously 

 for the appearance of swarms to put into them. But severe 

 frosts destroyed most of the early bloom, and only two 

 swarms came out — one June 5, the other July 9. 



High winds throughout the season interfered with their 

 flight, and hot winds during August greatly injured the 

 golden-rod, so that, altogether, the season was a very poor 

 one. Bee-keepers in the neighborhood agreed that it was the 

 worst they had seen here. 



Now for results: The swarms were hived on >^-inch 

 starters of foundation. They built out the combs in the 

 brood-fratnes nicely, and both swarms had abundant stores 

 for winter in the brood-chamber at the close of the season. 

 The first swarm gave 40 well-fllled sections, and 10 partly 

 filled; the other gave 20 filled sections, and 12 partly filled. 

 Prom the other six colonies I secured 12 filled sections and 

 about 20 partly filled. 



I attribute the result largely to the difference in size of 

 entrances, the Danzenbaker being %-inch deep, and the full 

 width of the hive. The bees in them never ioaft, while at the 

 other hives they hung out by the peck, day after day, when 

 the weather was hot, altho all were well shaded by box-elder 

 trees. 



SOMETHING ABOUT CO-OPERATION AMONG BEE-KEEPERS. 



I notice some very suggestive Items in the American Bee 

 Journal of Dec. 9, 1S97. In George W. York's paper {page 

 770), appears the following: 



" It [boney] should be found upon the plain, but neat and 

 wholesome, tables of the ttnlirnj inassi'a, as well as on the sumptuous 

 boards of the rich and nii/a/ <-l<isxrx. The price of the article can no 



longer he urged as a barrier to its universal demand But how 



shall honey-producers proceed to create a more general use of their 

 delicious and health-giving sweet, and consequently increase the 



demand? Education of the public is the great necessity It is 



little encouragement to have produced a big crop of beautiful 

 honey, and then find that there is no establisht market lor the 

 same — no organized co-operative system through which the large 

 crops can be distributed, or placed upon the market so as to yield 

 the best financial returns. It has been discovered, I think, that it 



will not do to rely wholly upon commission-men Bee-keepers 



must some day be organized so as to handle and dispose ot their 

 honey tliemselves. They can do it. Then good-bye to the flowery- 

 tongued commission-man, who is a veritable leech upon his fellow- 

 men, and should long ago have been everlastingly retired to the 

 robbers' cave whence he came." 



Why are not all profit-takers leeches and robbers ? Do 

 they belong to the " toitiiig-mrtsses," or the "rich and royal 

 classes ?" If some are more greedy than others, their crime is 

 only dififerent in degree, not in kind. 



On page 771 ( 1897) Mr. R. C. Aikin says: "Competi- 

 tion, it is said, is the life of trade, tho in fact it is the death 

 of it." 



On page 773 (1897) Mrs. Harrison says : 



"There was a wide field open to the ingenuity of our grand- 

 mothers. They spun wool, cotton and flax, dyed and wove, cut 

 and made garments [reapt the full result of their toil], but now 

 the inventive genius of man has superseded this with nimble- 

 fingered machinery Their [the bees] law is like that of the 



Medes and Persians, which changes not— the greatest good to the 

 greatest number." 



On the same page Dr. Miller says : " In the old countries 

 rafes are .90 low that bees are sent to new pastures and re- 

 turned by rail. We cannot do that in this country." 



On page 777 Mr. York speaks of " eternally destroying 

 our common foe — the abominable adulterators of earth's 



S. N. Black— See page 132. 



purest natural sweet." A natural result of competition and 

 the profit-grabbing system. I notice also reports of very low 

 prices for honey in California and elsewhere. 



The above items are from some of the brightest lights in 

 bee-culture (and I have been forcibly imprest with the fact, 

 judging from their written articles, that bee-keepers as a class 

 are far from being dull people). 



Such remarks are thought-provoking. They show that 

 there are some " screws loose" somewhere. Now, would it 

 not be a good plan to discover just what the cause Is, or causes 



