50 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Jan. 2i, 



These are all prepared for market with very little trouble, and 

 find ready sale. 



The running expense of the apiary is very small. The 

 expenditure of both time and money is certainly at a mini- 

 mum of any business enterprise except that of a banana plan- 

 tation in a tropical country. The latter, however, has a draw- 

 back in the way of finding a profitable consumer at the right 

 moment; while' the honey market for the city apiary is within, 

 let us say, shouting distance ac all times. 



Nor is the initial expense great. If all goes well, the first 

 year's honey crop will more than repay the capital invested. 

 A novice is advised to be moderate in his ideas and to begin 

 with one or two colonies. The experience gained in handling 

 them is of more importance than book knowledge, and the 

 natural increase of the bees will usually give enough to attend 

 to the first year. After he thoroughly understands their habits 

 and, equally important, the quantity and quality of the nectar 

 supply from the local flora, he can undertake a more extensive 

 apiary with both profit and pleasure. 



Another thing the beginner must bear in mind is to have 

 on hand from the first a fair supply of good working material. 

 The apiary in question was started in 1888, with one colony 

 of Italian bees, but through an insufficient supply of hives, 

 section-boxes, foundation, etc., the owner lost both time and 

 money in bringing it up to its present good condition. For 

 awhile he kept his stock pure, but, unfortunately, within the 

 last two years, some neighboring bees have made hybrids of 

 all the colonies except one. tSo far as honey-gathering is con- 

 cerned, it does not seem to make any difference, but it inter- 

 feres with the sale of his queens since they are liable to be 

 mismated. 



In regard to swarming, a little more care is requisite in the 

 city than in the country. In the apiary referred to the owner 

 keeps his queens clipped, and makes a point of being around 

 when a swarm is expected, for if the queen is left long ex- 

 posed on the tin roof, she is liable to die from the heat. For 

 the rest the management of city bees is identical with that 

 of country ones. The local flora must be studied, the time of 

 the honey-flow from the dififerent nectar-bearing species 

 known, and care taken to have worker-bees ready to take ad- 

 vantage of the harvest. 



BEE-CULTUKE FOE WOMEN. 



As a business for women bee-culture has advantages that are 

 well worth considering. It is an outdoor employjnent in which 

 she need be engaged only in fine weather. The work can be 

 systematized so there need never be a tax beyond her strength. 

 Except in swarming-time, the work is never urgent, but can 

 lay over a day, if necessary, without detriment. No special 

 talent, or high grade intelligence is necessary; the ordinary 

 fore-thought and prudence that the average woman puts into 

 housekeeping will bring good results, and enable her to at 

 least make a living with 50 colonies. The outlay is rather 

 small and the returns usually almost immediate. In this lat- 

 itude (Philadelphia) from November to April the bees are in 

 winter quarters, and the keeper is free to engage in some other 

 occupation. 



Mrs. Jennie Atchley, of Texas, may be instanced as a suc- 

 cessful bee-culturist, and Mrs. Lucinda Harrison and Mrs. 

 Sarah Axtell, of Illinois, are well known in the fraternity. 

 The Philadelphia Bee-Keeper's Association numbers among 

 its members several women who have experimental apiaries, 

 both in the city and country. Their reports will be looked for 

 with interest. Philadelphia, Pa. 



[Dr. Robt. H. Lamborn, of New York City, who is one of 

 our subscribers, kindly sent us the foregoing exceedingly inter- 

 esting contribution. In the letter accompanying the article 

 he says: "I have no doubt that apiculture may be practiced 

 successfully in towns, and that it will furnish a useful occu- 

 pation for women." — Editor.] 



The American Bee Journal — Other Comments. 



BY HON. EUGENE SECOR. 



Geo. W. York, Chicago, 111. 



Dear Friend ; — Well, you surprised us greatly by your 

 change of dress. I didn't know the American Bee Journal 

 had so many clothes. This is the fourth time it has changed 

 its appearance since I became acquainted with it. It is a sign 

 of prosperity to have a suit made to order before the old one 

 becomes unpresentable. I am glad to think you can afford 

 it — or, what amounts to the same thing, that you think you 

 can't afford not to keep step with the march of Progress. 



Now that you have discarded the old cover, I dare say to 

 you that I never did just like it. That stake-and-rider fence 

 in tangled growth of weeds and vines, with a straw hive 

 on the outside of the fence, and so far from the house that the 

 bees would need a telephone to notify the folks when ready to 

 swarm, looked a little too antiquated for the World's Fair 

 city. But I didn't have the courage to criticise it, because I 

 thought a new suit out of the question during these hard 

 times. 



You have not only improved the outside of the American 

 Bee Journal, but the whole make-up. You are using better 

 paper, too. Nov) when you print a man's face his friends 

 may be able to recognize the picture. In proof of this, just 

 look again at the faces of our friends, the Dadants, in No. 1. 

 They almost speak — so full of expression. Those are good 

 pictures — good men, too. (You will pardon this bit of praise 

 when I tell you I'm a Frenchman — i. e., French descent.) 



I don't see why the American Bee Journal — which has 

 always been the firm and consistent friend of honest bee- 

 culture, the fearless defender of its rights, and the outspoken 

 enemy of fraud and adulteration — should not continue to be 

 in the front rank of apicultural journalism. With an editorial 

 corps composed of two doctors, a Gleaner, a Bee-Master and 

 a live woman — besides the able correspondents who regularly 

 contribute — you need not hesitate to push the claims of the 

 "Old Reliable." Here's my ^W°, and here's my dollar. 



ABOUT OLD HONET-EXTEAOTOBS. 



The honey-extractor illustrated on page 2 (Fig. 3), reminds 

 me of the one I made use of for several years in my experience 

 as a bee-keeper. Mine was made almost exactly like that, 

 except that it was all wood but the outside of the reel. The 

 tub was a half barrel. It did good work, too. About the only 

 objection that I had to it was that it took longer to start and 

 stop than a geared machine. That was before the days of the 

 4-frame reversible. 



THE FLAT HIVE-COVEE GOOD ENOUGH. 



I see a great deal is being said lately concerning the Hig- 

 ginsville hive-cover. I hope it is not true that certain manu- 

 facturers are pushing the claims of this cover for the sake of 

 business. I can't for the life of me understand why the flat 

 cover isn't just as good for all practical purposes, especially 

 with an 8-frame hive. In all my experience I have never had 

 a cover blown from a hive, whether made of one board or 

 more. And I don't weigh them down with a 20-pound stone, 

 either. I use a shade-board made of rough lumber, longer and 

 wider than the cover, which keeps the latter from warping to 

 any harmful degree. I don't now remember ever havingoneof 

 these blown off. 



The Higginsville cover may be all right, and if it is not 

 more expensive than the flat style it is just as well for begin- 

 ners to use it, but I would not advise any one to throw away 

 their old fixtures every time something new comes out. You 

 will need a shaSe-board with that, just the same, so there will 

 be no expense saved on that score. Forest City, Iowa. 



The Production of Comb Honey. 



The second of aserieaof articles on this subject. 

 BY EMERSON T. ABBOTT. 



You cannot get comb honey without bees, neither can 

 you obtain the best quality of it without the right kind of 

 bees, and this is equally true with regard to hives. One can 

 secure just as much comb honey in an old hollow log, perhaps, 

 as he can in the best modern hive, provided he has the log in 

 sections so he can put them on one at a time, but this honey 

 would not be in marketable shape. In other words, it would 

 not be the kind of comb honey the people demand. 



The hive we want is the one that will cost the least in 

 proportion to its utility; last the longest, and give the most 

 comb honey in the best marketable shape, with the least out- 

 lay of labor, etc. What kind of hive is this? Should it con- 

 tain eight or ten frames? Should the joints be square or bev- 

 eled? Should it be a hive fitted at the corners on the so-called 

 dovetailed plan? or would it be better halved together? Should 

 the bottom be fast or loose? Should it be one story and a half 

 high, or should it be at least three? What kind of a super 

 should it have? And what kind of an arrangement for hold- 

 ing the sections? 



As to the number of frames which a hive should contain 

 in order to secure the best results in the production of comb 

 honey, I have a decided 



