408 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



bees. The honor of the invention of 

 the chaff hives belongs to America. 

 One more invention or discovery will 

 perfect the bar-fraiue hive — namely, 

 a material more porous than wood, 

 which will permit the moisture of 

 bees to pass through and out of the 

 hives. We have so many clever bee- 

 keepers seeking improvements now 

 that I believe the discovery will be 

 made soon. Meanwhile many men 

 are doing what they can to ventilate 

 the wooden hives and make their bees 

 more comfortable during winter. 



Evidences of progress in bee-man- 

 agement could be easily drawn frop 

 many points of practice now exten- 

 sively followed. One pleasant feature 

 of the progress already made by bee- 

 keepers I would like to notice. It is 

 the fact that they now write and 

 speak more kindly of those who differ 

 from them in opinion than they did 

 some years ago. The best men 

 amongst us— the real Samsons of bee- 

 keeping — refrain to a great extent 

 from employing dogmatic language. 

 They know well that whatever is true 

 in science and the practice of bee- 

 keeping will advance steadily, and 

 sooner or later establish itself. On 

 many questions much can be said on 

 both sides ; therefore let us act on the 

 principles of "free trade" and fair 

 play in exchanging opinions, always 

 remembering " kind words never 

 die," and also that " charity never 

 faileth." 



Bear in mind that great results 

 more frequently come from persever- 

 ance than from great strength — " A 

 falling drop will cave a stone." 



Bowdon, England. 



For tlie Amerloan Bee JournaL 



How to Hiiut Bees in the Woods. 



F. M. JOHNSON. 



You require a small box (which can 

 be made of any kind of wood). The 

 box is of a slanting shape, and should 

 be made according to the following 

 dimensions : Bottom, 4x6 in. ; sides, 

 4 in. at one end and beveled down to 

 1}4 in. at the other ; end pieces — one, 

 4x4 in., the other IJ^ deep by 4 in. 

 long. The top should be a separate 

 piece, and made as follows : Width, 

 4 in. ; whole length, 12 in. cutting 

 down 4 on one end for handle, and in- 

 serting a glass 3x1 in. flush with the 

 under-side at the other end, as near 

 the end as convenient. 



The box should contain a piece of 

 honey comb about 1}^ in. in thick- 

 ness, which should be scented with 

 bee-bait (the directions for making 

 this are given below), covering the 

 bottom of the box. Taking the box 

 in the left hand and the cover in the 

 right and approaching the bee while 

 at work on the flower or shrub, you 

 insert the box under the bee and 

 quickly putting the cover on the top 

 (in such a manner that the light can 

 shine in), you have the bee secure in 

 the box, then put the box on a stake 

 3 or 4 feet high, taking care not to jar 

 the box more than necessary. Then 

 shove the cover down so as to shut 

 out the light from the glass, when the 



bee will go to work on the honey, 

 which can be ascertained by holding 

 the ear to the box, as it will cease its 

 " humming " as soon as it commences 

 on the comb. Then the cover can be 

 taken off and the bee will remain on 

 the honey. Then take a position 

 where you can have an unobstructed 

 view 01 the box and its surroundings, 

 and wait for the bee to come out, 

 which it will do in from one to three 

 minutes, and commence circling in 

 the air, gradually enlarging the circles 

 until it hnds its latitude at which it 

 will immediately start in a direct line 

 for its home, and here care must be 

 taken to accurately mark the direction 

 it goes. You must now wait for a 

 short time, vv'hen the bee will return 

 and re-enter the box, which it will 

 repeat as long as the box remains. If 

 the tree should be near by other bees 

 will accompany it on its second or 

 third return ; if at a great distance it 

 will take a longer period for the bees 

 to '• double up." 



If you have gotten 15 or 20 bee» at 

 work on the line you can safely take 

 the box to a point as far distant, in 

 the course the bee has taken, as you 

 choose, being careful not to pass 

 where the bee is likely to tree, as they 

 will not follow the other way. Now 

 open the box again, and if you are on 

 the line the bees will find it in a very 

 few minutes. If they do not you will 

 know that you are off the lineor have 

 passed the tree and should move your 

 box to a point that you know is on the 

 line. This is to be repeated until you 

 run the bee to its tree. 



If you have but a few bees it will be 

 necessary to shut them in the box and 

 move them in this manner from 30 to 

 60 rods at a time, then open your box 

 and wait for them to go and return. 

 This is to be repeated until you have 

 found the tree. 



Cross lining is important. If any- 

 thing should prevent you from follow- 

 ing the bee in a direct line from where 

 you first start it, you can move the 

 box a distance to the right or left and 

 start it again, by which means you 

 can center the bee on some prominent 

 object whereby you can invariably lo- 

 cate the tree within a radius of 5 or 6 

 rods. 



Half an ounce of tincture of Annis 

 mixed with a half dozen drops of oil 

 of Organum, to be kept in an air- 

 tight bottle. 



Instead of using honey in your box, 

 put a quantity of granulated sugar in 

 a bottle and dissolve it with cold 

 water until it becomes a thick syrup, 

 and fill the comb in the box with this 

 liquid, which is better than the real 

 honey. 



Greystone, Conn. 



Examine the Date following your 

 name on the wrapper label of this 

 paper; it indicates the end of the 

 month to which you have paid your 

 subscription on the Bee Journal. 



Read before the Marlon Co., Ind., Convention. 



Comb or Extracted Honey. 



F. L. DOUGHERTY. 



1^" When changing a postofBce ad- 

 dress, mention the old as well as the 

 new address. 



In answering the question—" Which 

 is the most profitable y" I would de- 

 cide at once in favor o^ extracted 

 honey. The phrasing of the sentence 

 implies that the bees are to be worked 

 for the best results, the greatest profit, 

 regardless of other considerations. 

 Still, in deciding which is the most 

 profitable in individual cases, various- 

 circumstances and conditions must 

 also be considered, and can only be 

 decided by each one for themselves. 



As to the relative amount which 

 can be secured in ordinary seasons, 

 the yield of extracted will double that 

 of comb honey, and at other times it 

 may be possible to secure quite a fair 

 crop of extracted honey, while the 

 bees would not have one pound of 

 comb honey. As, no doubt, all of you 

 know, the secretion of honey depends- 

 almost entirely on atmospheric con- 

 ditions. There may be several days 

 at a time when the bees will scarcely 

 gather anything, when on account of 

 favorable weather, a few days will 

 come when the flowers seem literally 

 filled to overflowing with nectar, and 

 these few days may constitute the 

 entire honey yield of the season. 

 If at times like this, the hives be well 

 filled with iilenty of empty combs, 

 the amount gathered will be surpris- 

 ing, but if the bees must stop to build 

 the comb in which to store the honey, 

 the surplus secured will be but very 

 little, if any at all. 



In producing extracted honey, par- 

 ticular attention should be given to- 

 quality, and every drop should be well 

 ripened before it is closed up in casks, 

 cans, or jars. None but a thoroughly 

 good article should be placed on tlie 

 market, as the price and future sales 

 will depend very much on the quality 

 of honey you offer. 



As a general tiling the difference in 

 price between extracted and comb 

 honey ranges at from .5 to 8 cents per 

 pound, but where you have a goo4 

 home market at retail, extracted 

 lioney will bring within a few cents 

 of as much per pound as comb honey. 

 As far as practicable each grade of 

 honey should be kept separate. In 

 order to do this a vigilant watch 

 should be kept of the different bloom. 

 The white clover honey should be ex- 

 tracted closely before the bassvvood 

 blooms. A little clover in the bass- 

 wood honey, however, will not do the 

 harm that would result if the propor- 

 tions were reversed. Basswood honey 

 has a peculiar flavor, and it should 

 not be allowed to become mixed with 

 any other kind of honey. 



As to how fast the honey should 

 be taken, we think it makes but little 

 difference in its quality, providing it 

 is given the proper care afterward, 

 and we would like to impress on your 



