THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



181 



species on the approach of danger to 

 their own existence ! There is a 

 danger of sncli colonies working them- 

 selves to death. This is the Ameri- 

 can trouble known as " spring dwind- 

 ling." The only cnre for it is to re- 

 move all combs with unsealed or un- 

 wholesome stores, and supply others 

 if they can be had of better qualitv, 

 or give dry combs and sugar cake. At 

 the same time contract the brood nest 

 till tlie bees are crowded, and give 

 any comb containing brood beyond 

 what the bees can be crowded on, to 

 any other healthy colony. 



Bee-Stings.— Respecting the effect 

 of bee-stings in rheumatism, a cor- 

 respondent of Okd-iings says : 



About a month siTice, a neighbor, 

 living about six miles in the country, 

 called on me to go out and examine a 

 colony of blacks that he thought the 

 moth were troubling. While there 

 the lady told me that bee-stings had 

 cured lier of rheumatism. She said 

 that she had for a long time been so 

 troubled with it in her thigh and hip 

 that it was difficult for her to walk 

 across the house. Last summer she 

 and her sister undertook to transfer a 

 swarm of bees from an old gum, and 

 not being acquainted with that kind 

 of business, never having seen the 

 operation performed, they got terribly 

 stung before they got tlirough. She 

 was so badly stung that it made her 

 quite sick ; but since that time she 

 has not been bothered with rheuma- 

 tism. 



How to Start in Keeping Bees in 

 Texas.— Dr. Wm. R. Howard, in the 

 Kansas Bee-Keeper, says: 



An apiary should be located within 

 easy range of both prairie and timber, 

 near some small stream, in order to 

 have the advantage of the thicket and 

 bottom, as well as prairie range. In 

 the thickets and bottoms we have 

 elms, wild plums, red-bud, ratan 

 vines, honey locust, and many other 

 honey plants of minor importance. On 

 the prairie we have the horsemints, 

 milkweeds, etc. Horsemint is one of 

 our very best honey plants. 



The best way to get a start of bees 

 here is to buy the blacks in box hives 

 and transfer and Italianize them. An- 

 other way is to furnish hives and 

 transfer on the halves. We have 

 tried both plans and there is but little 

 difference, where you don't go too far 

 for the bees. We always bring our 

 bees home in the boxes and transfer, 

 either immediately before allowing to 

 fly, or four or hve days afterward, 

 when they have become acquainted 

 with their new location. 



To Beginners. — The American Agri- 

 culturist, gives this good advice to the 

 beginner : 



Those who contemplate starting in 

 bee-keeping the coming season should 

 procure at once, and thoroughly mas- 

 ter some one of the several excellent 

 manuals that treat of bees. This 



done, the prospective apiarist should 

 subscribe for one of the apicultural 

 papers, several of which are i>ublished 

 in tliis country. The text book study 

 will prepare one to read understand- 

 ingly the paper, and by such reading 

 a person will keep abreast of the im- 

 provements, and so will be in the way 

 to take advantage of all that may 

 help liini. Apiculture is advancing 

 rai)idly, and he who does not keep in- 

 formed will soon be left in the wake 

 of his more enter|)rising brother. 

 After atliorougli study of the subject, 

 it will pay well to visit some wide- 

 awake bee-keeper, and spend a day 

 or two with hiui. We are liappy to 

 state that one does not need to go far 

 now in any part of the country to find 

 such an one. Such a visit will do 

 much to remove the timidity that one 

 is apt to feel in approaching these in- 

 sects. The book-knowledge will be- 

 come practical, as the various truths 

 and descriptions are illustrated. 



For the American Bee JuumaL 



Some Slovenly Bee-Keeping. 



REV. L. JOHNSON. 



" How many colonies of bees have 

 you ? " 



" Ten or twelve." 



" How have they wintered ? " 



" I don't know." 



" How have you prepared them for 

 wintering;"' 



" I have paid no attention to them. 

 I have been too busy." 



Such was the substance of a con- 

 versation I had with an old bee- 

 keeper, as I arrived at his house late 

 one evening not long since. Fre- 

 quently had he requested me to come 

 to see him and talk about bee-keeping. 

 Until a latehourat night we remained 

 up and almost every subject connected 

 with the interest was discussed in his 

 way. But as he took no bee paper, 

 and never attended our Conventions, 

 I found him far behind. 



Next morning early we were in his 

 bee-yard following him around to re- 

 ceive " instructions." His hives were 

 of all shapes and patterns ; some in 

 boxes, some in movable combs, yet 

 the frames of no two exactly of the 

 same size. The tops of most of the 

 hives were leaky or warped so that 

 dampness and snow was penetrating 

 the inside every storm. Many of them 

 were tilted back so that rain falling 

 on the alighting board would run into 

 the hive. Some pigs had been run- 

 ning in the yard all winter, and these 

 liad rooted u]) the ground around the 

 hives until the entrance of some of 

 them was nearly blocked. 



Three or four of the best were sit- 

 ting under a cherry tree, in which the 

 fowls had roosted all winter, and the 

 tops were covered two or three inches 

 deep with their droppings, which was 



being soaked into the hives and combs. 

 When the hives were opened I found 

 a little bunch of bees, perhajis a 

 quiirt, old, black and sickly looking. 

 When 1 told him I had hives with 10 

 or 11 combs covered, and young bees 

 flying, he wondered why his did not 

 do better, as he thought he had a good 

 location. 



This may be an extreme case, yet 

 all over our land we lind hundreds 

 keeping bees who do but little better, 

 yet these men say "bee-keeping does 

 not pay." Suppose their sheep, hogs, 

 or even larger stock were kept after 

 the same fashion, who would expect 

 anything but failure ? These men are 

 generally the most self-conceited men 

 on bee matters of any we meet. They 

 '■ have long ago learned everything 

 about bees." " Youean'ttell nie any- 

 thing," etc. Some years ago, I sold 

 one of these men 2 good colonies, and 

 delivered them in good order ; that 

 winter he let them die for want of at- 

 tention ; next spring he reported 

 around that I had not sold liim good 

 colonies, etc. Ihavejio doubt many 

 of onr qtieen breeders and bee dealers 

 have suffered in the same way. If 

 anything is worth doing at all, it is 

 worth doing well, and the proper care 

 of bees will pay a larger return than 

 almost anything else. If we possibly 

 can, brother bee-keepers, let us try to 

 convert our slovenly bretliren from 

 the error of their ways, and if we can- 

 not, it will be an act of mercy toward 

 onr little pets, as well as beneficial to 

 the craft, to induce them to quit the 

 business entirely. 



Walton, Ky., March 13, 1882. 



For tlie American Bee Journal. 



A Few Practical Hints. 



C. A. HATCH. 



To keep one-;)iece sections from 

 breaking in bending, hold as many as 

 you can conveniently grasp, edge up, 

 over a pail, and pour boiling water 

 from a tea-kettle on the places which 

 are to be bent, and be careful and not 

 wet the rest of the piece. The strips 

 should all be laid so the grooved sides 

 are one way ; this gives a chance for 

 the hot water to wet both sides nicely, 

 and only just where it is needed. The 

 advantage over steaming or wetting 

 the whole piece is, the dovetailed ends 

 are not wet at all, and therefore will 

 not loosen after being driven together, 

 by shrinking. 



Have always run my bees for ex- 

 tracting, and never used many sec- 

 tions ; but prefer the one-piece to any 

 other tried. I think they are nicer, 

 stronger, and quicker put together ; 

 do not remember ever breaking one 

 treated as above. A light mallet is 

 the best tool to drive them together 

 witli. 



Can fully indorse all J. W. Porter 

 says in the Bee Journal as to the 

 age of foundation. Rather melt up 

 after it is one year old and make over, 

 than to use. Think the best plan to 

 keep it would be to pack close in a 

 covered box. Anyway, do not fasten 

 into frames until most ready to put in 

 the hive, and do not put in the hive 



