1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



365 



$6,000 worth of bees in one year. He has sold several car- 

 loads at a time. He runs four out-apiaries at a distance of \) 

 to 15 miles from the home apiary, and owing to his large e.\- 

 perience in migratory bee-keeping and out-apiary work, he 

 long ago, or, in other words, was among the first to discard 

 the Simplicity hive. He now favors for his own use a 10- 

 frame dovetailed hive, and an 8-frame for selling; and, like 

 many more of our best bee-keepers, prefers a leather-colored 

 Italian, or first-cross hybrid. He generally keeps from 300 

 to 500 colonies, and has tried all the races of bees e.xcept 

 Funics. He once gave as high as §35 for a Cyprian colony 

 and queen. He has imported bees for years, but believes we 

 now have as good bees as in Italy. 



Mr. Flanagan's father died while he was young, and 

 owing to a defect in his father's title to property, all was lost. 

 This left him without any education or money to care for him- 

 self, and it is in justice to him to say he did not get one year 

 in school, all told ; and yet his well-written articles have been 

 read by thousands of wide-awake bee-keepers, and valued, 

 too. It is plain to see their value : First, his large experi- 

 ence; second, he is a man of truth, and not theory, for all he 

 writes is that which he has tested. 



He is a lover of flowers, poetry, and all classes of good 

 literature. He has a happy family and home, well cared for, 

 is always bright and cheerful, and is exceedingly generous, 

 well posted in the Bible, and a follower of the Word. I only 

 regret that space is so limited. He traveled over Texas in an 

 early day, and many are the stories he has told me, on our 

 trips from apiary to apiary, of deer and wild turkey hunting. 



In referring to the picture again, let me say when these 

 fruit-trees were in bloom it was one of the grandest sights I 

 have ever seen. His place is well stocked with the choicest of 

 fruit of all kinds, among which are pears he originated himself. 



And now, good friends, if you want to find a kind mother, 

 a loving father, a happy home and little ones, call where you 

 will get a hearty welcome, at the home of E. T. Flanagan. 



Mr. Leahy, editor of the Progressive Bee-Keeper, who 

 kindly loaned the engraving on the first page, adds this para- 

 graph to Mr. Hammond's story of Mr. Flanagan's life : 



The above is such a good description of my friend and 

 brother bee-keeper — of his home life, his originality, of his 

 fearlessness in large undertakings, his morality and gener- 

 osity — that I cannot add anything along that line but to say 

 I know it to be true. I remember too well the helping hand, 

 the encouragement that Mr. Flanagan gave to me years ago 

 when I went to him to find out something about the mysteries 

 of bee-keeping. The first bee-book I ever read was generously 

 loaned to me by him. From this book, and from his kindly 

 advice tome at the beginning, I trace my first steps to my 

 present success, if success it may be called. Mr. Flana- 

 gan and I have " talked bees " in that grove when those trees 

 were small, but the trees have now grown into a beautiful 

 grove — they mark the glorious enterprise of the man who 

 planted them there. They bloom and give fragrance to the 

 air, and the bees hum among their branches. Mr. Flanagan 

 and I have grown older, but with each year I know our friend- 

 ship has grown stronger. May he live long to enjoy the fruits 

 of his labor, is the wish of his friend — R. B. Leahy. 



CONDUCTED BY 



DR. J. P. H. BTtO\V:S, AUGUSTA, GA. 



[Please send all questions relating to bee-keeping In the South direct 

 to Dr. Brown, and he will answer in this department. — Ed.1 



'So. 2..— Bee-Management, Etc. 



A good smoker is indispensable to every bee-keeper. .See 

 that it is in good order. When the fuel in it is well ignited, 

 approach the hive and blow a few whiffs of smoke in at the 

 entrance. Wait a minute, then blow a little more smoke until 

 the bees set up a sort of roaring noise. Then gently com- 

 mence to open the hive, and if the bees show a desire to come 

 up, blow a little more smoke over the tops of the frames, 

 which will run the bees back. Bees can be smoked too much, 

 particularly when queens are to be found. Just how much to 

 give depends upon the humor and disposition of the insect? ; 

 as a general rule, hybrids, Syrians, and Cyprians require more 

 smoke to subdue them than blacks, Carniolans, and Italians. 

 Italians are the most easily handled. 



When using smoke, care should be taken not to run the 

 bees off the combs. Blacks and the far Eastern varieties are 

 easily run off to the sides of the hive, or will collect in a pen- 

 dulous mass on the edge of a frame that is being handled, and 

 will possibly lose their hold and drop at your feet, which is 

 not very pleasant to the operator. Cyprians can stand a 

 " broad side " of smoke unflinchingly, and will only yield after 

 continued blasts. 



When a bee gets under the clothes, give it room and do 

 not crowd it, and it will make for the light and crawl out 

 without offering to sting. 



VAKIETIE8 OF THE HONEY-BEE. 



There are quite a number of varieties of Apis melliflca, 

 among which I may name the black bee, which is the most 

 common. This variety was introduced, it is said, into Penn- 

 sylvania from Germany about the year 1627, and was trans- 

 ported to South America in 18-15. The Italian, Cyprian, 

 Syrian, Egyptian, Carniolan, etc., are also only varieties, and 

 are undoubtedly of common origin. For beauty, honey-gath- 

 ering capacity, docility, and most desirable qualities, the Ital- 

 ian is to be preferred. 



In cultivating any of these breeds of bees, there is a 

 continual, though slight, disposition to sport from a precise 

 standard of physical and psychical characteristics to an as- 

 sumption of some of the peculiarities of some other breed. 

 This seems to be a rule attending the breeding of all cattle, 

 horses, sheep, swine and fancy breeds of poultry, that lack that 

 fixedness and individuality of character sufficient to stamp 

 such breed as a distinct species. 



How Long Will Foundation Keep ': 



How long will foundation keep good before using ? I 

 mean, when left over from year to year. 



N. G. 0., South Carolina. 



Answer. — If the wax-moth is kept from it so that no eggs 

 are deposited, it will remain good for a number of years. 

 Wax hardens with age, but it will soon soften if exposed to a> 

 gentle heat. When foundation is left over until another sea- 

 son, you can make it just as good as new-made, by simply ex- 

 posing the sheets to the heat of the sun for a few minutes. 



Linden or Ba§swood — ^'orlliern Georgia— Trans- 

 ferring. 



1. "We have a tree here called linn, and a good tree for 

 honey. Is it what is called the basswood or linden ? 



2. What sort of a place is northern Georgia for a bee- 

 country ? 



3. Would you transfer from the old hewn-out log-hive to 

 movable-frame hive ? J. J. W., Kentucky. 



Answers. — 1. Yes, sir. 



2. There are portions of it that are very good. All the 

 cereals, grasses, and fruits that are cultivated in higher lati- 

 tudes grow well there. But never think about moving to a 

 new place before you first go to see it. 



8. I certainly would. I would allow a prime swarm to 

 issue from the old log-gum, which I would hive in a frame 

 hive : and then in 21 days I would demolish the old log— cut 

 out the combs, and use all the straight worker-combs in the 

 new hive, and transfer the bees to the same. 



Bees in Nortliwest Georgia— Treatment of 



Swarms— Piping — Fastening Foundation 



in Sections. 



We have a good prospect for honey in the near future. 

 Bees have been storing a little surplus, but there is a little 

 check-up at present. I took off a box the other day— weighed 

 27 Jo pounds, and left another case which was under it about 

 half'full. I put into winter quarters 68 colonies, and they 

 came out all right. 



Swarming has been the order of the day. For the last 

 four weeks we have had 41 swarms, but we hived all second- 

 swarms back. 



1. Which do you think is the best plan— to put the new- 

 swarm in a new place, or to set it on the old stand and move 

 the old colony to a new place ? Here is the way I have been 

 treating second swarms : Hive them, and set them close be- 

 side the old hive for two davs, and then take the frames out 



