Aug. 17, 1899. 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL, 



515 



which to store his comb honey when taken from the hives. 

 The iieat continues the ripening; process, and if there are 

 any unsealed cells of honey, the honey in them becomes 

 thicker and riper instead of thinner. 



Down cellar is where the ordinary purchaser of comb 

 honey is almost sure to put it. No place could be more un- 

 desirable. Dryness and warmth are the requisites for keep- 

 ing comb hone)'. As ordinarily kept, comb honej- will 

 candy before spring ; but by keeping it in a warm atmos- 

 phere it will not candy, and will really improve with time. 

 I have now in my possession soine comb honey that was on 

 exhibition at the World's Fair, and it is still a first-class 

 article. It has been kept in a cupboard abjoining the sit- 

 ting-room. I also know of a bee-keeper who one year kept 

 over a large crop of comb honey, because the price was so 

 low. His honey-reom was over a cellar, and the walls were 

 double, with the spaces filled with sawdust. There was a 

 stove in the room, and a little lire kept each day, the 

 amount depending upon the weather. The honey came 

 thru in good condition, and was sold the next spring at a 

 considerable advance in price. 



Several times in this article the " ripening '" of tin- 

 honey has been mentioned. I will explain that when nectar 

 is gathered it is thin and watery. The heat of the hive, 

 aided by the manipulation.s of the bees, gradually reduces 

 the nectar to thick, " ripe " honey when it is sealed over. 

 Some bee-keepers make the mistake of extracting honey be- 

 fore it is thoroly ripened. Such honey never has a fine 

 flavor, and is likely to ferment. — Countrv Gentleman. 



A Canadian View of Large and Small Hives. 



BY C. MITCHELL. 



I HAVE used both large and small hives side by side 

 nearly 20 years, my largest being the D. A. Jones hive, 

 which is 15 inches deep inside, and holds 12 frames run- 

 ning crosswise. It is the same size on top as the S-frame 

 Heddon hive. My other hive is the Heddon 8-frame Lang- 

 stroth hive. For many years I have workt and twisted 

 when reading the hot discussions on this subject, and won- 

 dered why every one seemed to have mist the most 

 important point of all in the large hive, viz : that the large 

 hive will winter more bees. In all those years Mr. Dadant 

 is the onl)- one I have noticed to even hint such a thing 

 (until now). 



The first season a swarm is put into a large hive it does 

 not seem very profitable, unless there is a good fall flow, as 

 it takes more honey to fill up the hive. But just as sure as 

 death and taxes, they will carry over more bees, and conse- 

 quently store more honey. I have often, when unpacking 

 the first day of May, had to carry a knife and plate and 

 take off two pounds of new honey under the cloth on top of 

 the frames, while many of my 8-framers vrould not be full. 

 How often has Mr. Doolittle said if he could only have 

 plenty of field-bees at fruit-bloom that he thought he could 

 get a good yield from it. 



Now, where is the less in a large hive ? Perhaps it 

 weighs 75 pounds with a class of honey which I hardly ever 

 offer for sale— it is always willow and dandelion, andsome- 

 times maple syrup. Red-squirrels have a way of tapping the 

 twigs and letting the sap evaporate to a fine syrup, and the 

 bees in good spells of weather find employment. 



Then, often, we have a gap in the honey-flow for two 

 weeks, just when there is the most brood— before clover— 

 when my 8-framers suffer much the worst. Now, what did 

 this honey cost me ? Not one cent more than the Heddon 

 8-frame, which hadn't any, and which is often empty by 

 clover bloom, and which 'has to be filled up with white 

 clover — just the very reverse of what is said on page 202. 



No, no, Mr. Hutchinson, the above is not unwarranted 

 with me. Of course, getting those occasional spring flows 

 before we dare utipack. makes a difference, but I am tired 

 of seeing so much of this begging locality for everything ; 

 also how much brood we can get from an' 8-frame hive. I 

 want at least one comb at each side without brood, which 

 should contain fresh pollen and unsealed stores at all times 

 up to the main flow. 



I am satisfied I have lost hundreds of dollars by using 

 8-frame hives, in 15 years. I will hereafter have almost all 

 of my bees in 10-frame hives, which will be my last change. 



I even find no trouble in getting section honey from 

 those large hives, but when they cast a swarm I prefer to 

 put them into an 8-frame hive. ' Ontario, Canada. 



Adaptability of Bee-Keeping- to the Ministry. 



BY HOX. GEO. E. HILTON. 



I HAVE often wondered why ministers did not engage in 

 some light work, such as the raising of small fruits and 

 vegetables, bee-keeping, or some of the health-giving, 

 mind-resting, yet fascinating pursuits, thereby helping 

 themselves to a little money aside from that received from 

 their parishioners, leaving many times a better impression 

 upon the community in which they live, and at the same 

 time giving themselves that much needed mental rest. 

 Every minister is familiar with Virgil and his beautiful 

 poems, in which he wrote of the bee. Before the world had 

 a Savior — yes, before the Christian era, bee-keeping was 

 lookt upon as one of the important industries of the Old 

 World. 



Our dear old Father Langstroth (now gone to his final 

 reward), after losing his health in the ministry, resorted to 

 bee-keeping with a hope of receiving a new lease of life. 

 Bee-keeping at that time was in its infanc)', and carried on 

 in a very primitive manner. But his inventive mind and 

 deep interest in the improvement of the old box-hive, g^ve 

 us the movable-frame hive that bears his name. For this 

 alone the bee-keepers of the world owe him a debt of grati- 

 tude they can never pay. He was the " Huber of America," 

 and his name will be a household word wherever bee-keep- 

 ing is known. As the result of his efforts, man)- ministers 

 (whose names I can give) have engaged in bee-keeping in 

 connection with their ministerial work, and I have often 

 wondered what could be better adapted to those that have 

 allowed their minds to delve into any special line of 

 thought. All know how restful it is to have something that 

 will divert the mind occasionally ; no matter if the study is 

 just as deep, the change is restful. 



Another thing, I think the early and latter part of the 

 day the better adapted to study and 'thought. As for my- 

 self, my best efforts in writing have occurred between three 

 o'clock in the morning and daylight, when not another 

 soul about the place was astir, and I think this is true with 

 many. Now, the only time tliat bees need attention is dur- 

 ing pleasant weather, and then only from eight o'clock in 

 the morning- until four in the afternoon. If a minister 

 must be in fiis study during these hours, he can usually 

 arrange his hives facing his study window, so that every 

 time he raises his eyes for a moment's rest, they will rest 

 upon the fronts of his hives. And what could be more rest- 

 ful than to watch for a few moments those " tireless little 

 workers " and " emblems of industry "? 



Many will ask. What will I do with them Sundays ? Or 

 won't they, the first time I have a funeral to attend or a 

 marriage ceremony to perform, think it about time to in- 

 crease and swarm and go to the woods? In reply I will say, 

 scientific apiculture has overcome these obstacles, and by- 

 placing any of the queen-excluding devices over the en- 

 trance, the swarm is safe. This will not prevent their 

 swarming, but as the queen cannot escape, as soon as the 

 swarm miss her, they will return to the parent colony, and, 

 as a rule, will make another effort the nest day. But I 

 usually save them this trouble b)- g-oing to the hive and re- 

 moving all the combs with adhering bees, except the comb 

 I find the queen upon, to a new hive, and fill up this hive 

 with empt)- combs or frames, well wired and filled with full 

 sheets of foundation. All the old or field-bees will return 

 to the parent hive the first time they leave the new hive, 

 but the nurse-bees, or those less than ten days old, will re- 

 main in the new hive and care for the brood and rear a 

 young queen, and both colonies will build up rapidly. As 

 the swarming season lasts only about two months, this is 

 not much trouble. Or, you can manage your bees for ex- 

 tracted honey, and you will not average one swarm froira 

 ten colonies. 



There are manj' other points I could enumerate, but to 

 those who are apiculturally inclined, I have said enough. 

 So far as I know, it has proven fascinating, healthful and 

 profitable.. — Michigan Farmer. 



Density of Nectar in the Flower-Cups. 



BY .\. B. BATES. 



MR. NORTON, on page 403, in unraveling- the idea of 

 different densities of nectar in the flower-cups, says 

 that nectar when first secreted is of a uniform consis- 

 tency. Doubtless true, and when God made man he pro- 

 nounced him not only good, but very good, but how was he 

 afterwards? Is there not a possibility of nectar changing- 



