230 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Apr. 11, 



them about everything else for that matter. When I want 

 some real, delicate, superfine comb honey for my own table, I 

 do not use anything but very small starters, and I want those 

 made out of the very thinnest foundation that can be had. I 

 have a notion that bees will make just a little finer quality of 

 comb when they secrete their own wax than they will if foun- 

 dation is given them. However, there is not enough difference 

 in quality to cause the general public to pay any more for the 

 honey. This being the case, and concluding that most people 

 are in the comb-honey business " for revenue only," I would 

 recommend the use of full sheets of foundation of the very 

 best quality that can be had. When I say " best quality," I 

 mean the thinnest and whitest foundation that can be made 

 out of pure beeswax. I would never think of using in the 

 sections for full sheets anything but "extra thin." I think 

 the honey-producer who uses aiiy other grade runs a risk of 

 injuring his reputation, for a producer of the finest quality of 

 goods. 



While I recommend the use of foundation, yet I am aware 

 there are certain times and conditions when full sheets will 

 not be found of as much value as some people would have us 

 believe. If the honey-flow is a long one and comes in very 

 slowly, I doubt if the benefit derived will pay for the outlay ; 

 but where the honey comes in rapidly, and all of the condi- 

 tions exist for getting a first-class article, then there is no 

 question in my mind as to the advantage of full sheets of foun- 

 dation. 



WHEN TO PREPARE THE SECTIONS. 



Many of the bee-books and writers on the subject of api- 

 culture say get the sections all ready in the winter. They say 

 the bee-keeper has nothing else to do then, and he should get 

 everything ready for the coming season. This is all well 

 enough as to hives, but when it comes to making up sections 

 and putting in foundation, I say don't do it. It all sounds 

 very nice to say you have everything ready in advance, but 

 sections prepared in advance will never be in as good condi- 

 tion as those prepared just before they are needed. 



A crate of sections should never be opdned until the bee- 

 keeper is ready to put them on the hive. If he has so many 

 colonies that he cannot do this work himself, it will pay him 

 better to hire some help than to make them up in the winter. 

 Just as soon as sections are exposed to the air they begin to 

 darken, and then the dust settles upon them and soils them 

 more or less. 



Then, it is also much better to leave the foundation in a 

 box until the time comes to put it on the hive, as it will be 

 fresh and free from dust, and the bees will go into the sections 

 without any trouble. With a good section press and a foun- 

 dation fastener a large quantity of sections can be prepared 

 in a very short time, and such sections will come off of the 

 hive in much belter condition than will those which are made 

 up in the winter and left for two or three months exposed to 



The Parher Foundation Fastener. 



the air and dust. I use the Parker foundation fastener and 

 the section press, illustrated on this and the previous page. 



Another thing I would never do is to use old sections 

 which have been partially drawn out the year before. Many 

 advocate having the combs drawn out in advance. I think 

 this a serious mistake, as I am confident that the comb will 

 never be as delicate and tender as it would if it had been filled 

 with honey at the time it was drawn out. Then, such honey is 

 more apt to sour in the combs than honey which is put in 

 slowly as the comb is drawn out. 



By the use of full sheets of comb foundation the bees are 

 able to prepare the combs as fast as they need them, and much 

 better results are secured than when drawn-out combs are 

 used. One should so manage as to have as few empty sections 

 left over as possible, and unless those are in very fine condi- 

 tion, it will pay to throw them away and put in fresh ones. 



St. Joseph, Mo. 



Do Bees Polleuize Strawberry Blossoms ? 



BY HOK. EUGENE SECOB. 



I notice on page 190 that ex-president Abbott takes 

 exceptions to my statement that bees do not poUenize straw- 

 berry blossoms. I wrote that sentence after a good many 

 years' observation, and with a good many pangs of regret, 

 because it was contrary to a long-cherished desire I had of 

 proving to my horticultural friends that bees were necessary 

 to insure a strawberry crop. 



I have raised strawberries and kept bees for 20 years. I 

 have many times gone to my strawberry-patch when the plants 

 were in bloom, but scarcely ever found a bee working on the 

 blossoms. So I wrote that sentence advisedly. I did not dare 

 to stand before such an intelligent lot of men as compose the 

 State Horticultural Society of Iowa, and utter a different sen- 

 timent. I should have expected criticism. Many of them are 

 bee-keepers also. No one objected to the statement I made. 



In confirmation of my theory that bees are not necessary 

 to pollenize strawberry blossoms, I will state that I came to 

 this county before a bee — either domesticated or wild — had 

 ever entered it. At that time wild strawberries were just as 

 abundant and fruitful as now. This fact, coupled with my 

 later observations, led to the penning of that sentence. 



Another reason for my belief is the practice of strawberrv- 

 growers. When pistillate, or imperfect varieties, are planted 

 for the main crop, every second or third row is set with stam- 

 inate, or perfect-flowering kinds, to insure a crop. If the bees 

 did the pollenizing, surely the kinds would not need to be 

 so closely planted. 



But please understand that I am not arguing to support a 

 theory, but to account for a fact — according to my observation. 



Now since this matter has been brought up sa prominently, 

 it is desirable to get at the truth. If my locality is an excep- 

 tion to the rule, and if bees elsewhere do work on strawberry 

 blossoms, I shall be most glad to acknowledge their helpful- 

 ness. For, as I said, I wanted to believe they were necessary 

 to the strawberry-grower. 



I would be pleased to have the testimony of bee-keepers or 

 others who have made observations along this line. I want 

 the facts rather than theories. I don't believe it is beneficial 

 to bee-keepers in arguing with horticulturists to claim more 

 than we can prove. They are as intelligent and observing as 

 we. We must stick to facts. Bring on your witnesses. 



Forest City, Iowa. 



SpriHg Feeding to Stimulate Brood-Rearing. 



BT C. DAVENPORT. 



There has been a good deal said and written about feed- 

 ing in the spring for the purpose of stimulating brood-rearing 

 in order to have a large force of workers at the right time. 

 Some claim there is a big advantage in this, and others say 

 the benefit that can be derived from it is very slight; and I 

 remember reading one article which claimed that much harm 

 was done by spring feeding. 



I do not think there is any doubt that there is a big profit 

 in both spring and early summer feeding in some seasons. 

 Some years we can get a paying crop without, while in others, 

 at least with me, it is impossible to do so. Not that there is 

 no honey to gather, but because there has not been enough to 

 be had before the main flow to enable brood-rearing to be kept 

 up as it should have been. Consequently, when the flow did 

 come, there would not be enough workers to store much sur- 

 plus. But in my opinion, if there is anything about bee-keep- 

 ing that requires skill and judgment, it is this kind of feeding, 

 for in this locality the season, amount of stores in the hives, 

 and other things, must be considered in regard to the time to 

 commence, or whether to commence at all — amount to be fed, 

 and how long it should be continued. There is much more 

 about it than I know, or probably ever will know, but some of 

 the things I do know may interest, and possible benefit, some 

 that have not had much experience in this kind of feeding. 



Of course we could use hives large enough to hold 

 plenty of stores, so that feeding would not be necessary in 

 such seasons. These are a good kind of hive, if one is keeping 

 bees merely for those things to be found in bee-keeping that 

 we would not sell for money if we could. I think I find as 

 many of those things as anybody, but at the same time, in or- 

 der to pay expenses, make a living, and lay up a little for a 

 rainy day, I have to make considerable money with them, too. 

 And for the comb-honey producer those big hives are a failure, 

 especially in such seasons as we are having right along now. 

 In using'them, if we do not feed in poor seasons, it takes most 

 of the white honey to fill them up, and after they are full the 



