1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



573 



Honey and Bees^svax in France.— From a Re- 

 port ou France, recently issued by the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, " for the purpose of illustratiuR the pos- 

 sibilities attending a highly diversified system of agriculture 

 in a country less than one-third larger than the State of Cali- 

 fornia," I notice that the amount of Honey produced in 1893 

 was 6,432,607 pounds, valued at $2,049,481; and 4,427,- 

 157 pounds of beeswax, valued at §853,107. It also shows 

 that in 1892, 580 colonies of bees were imported into 

 France; in 1893, 492 colonies, and in 1894,659 colonies. 

 It does not say where the bees came from. 



Xlie Alsike Clover Leaflet consists of 2 pages, 

 with illustrations, showing the value of Alsike clover, and 

 telling how to grow it. This Leaflet is just the thing to hand 

 to every farmer in your neighborhood. Send to the Bee Jour- 

 nal office for a quantity of them, and see that they are dis- 

 tributed where they will do the most good. Prices, postpaid, 

 are as follows : 50 for 25 cents ; 100 for 40 cents ; or 200 



for 70 cents. 



^-*-^ 



Tlie Book " Bees and Honey," which we are 

 using as a premium for new subscribers, we are entirely out 

 of just now, but will have a new edition about Sept. 15, when 

 all orders will be filled promptly. Send on the new subscrip- 

 tions just the same — the premium book will then be mailed 

 afterward, as stated above. 



^rc)or)^ Vc}^ Bee-Papers 



Gleaned by Dr. ^liller. 



DIVISIBLE BK00D-CHAMBER8. 



Some are saying that bees do not rear brood to so great 

 an extent when a divisible brood-chamber is used, and that the 

 queen is likely to neglect one section. I have used such bives 

 in large numbers now for years, and have never seen anything 

 of the kind. There is usually more brood in the lower sec- 

 tion, just as there is more brood in the lower part of an ordi- 

 nary frame of a single-story hive, but at the height of the 

 breeding season this difference is very slight. — Review edito- 

 rial. 



VALUE OF BROOD-FOUNDATION. 



Bees, if left to themselves, will have at least the two out- 

 side combs of drone. I have not tested it, but would say that 

 such a colony would gather about a fifth less honey and con- 

 sume about one-tenth more, which would mean over one- 

 fourth less surplus. We can easily see the loss is considerable; 

 not only have we two frames less in which to rear worker- 

 bees, but we have two frames more, that rear consumers. It 

 is my belief that a colony on comb built of foundation, or 

 which have all, or nearly, all-worker comb, are worth at least 

 one dollar more each year than one which is allowed to build 

 their own comb. Many, however, from shortsightedness, 

 would object to giving it if they were buying. If such a col- 

 ony is kept for a number of years we can understand that the 

 loss or gain is considerable. — Canadian Bee Journal. 



A VISIT FKOM THE EDITOR OF THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



We all of us, big and little Roots, have had a most enjoy- 

 able visit from Mr. George W. York. From the very first a 

 pleasant, and I might say, a sort of kinship feeling, sprang up 

 between us. I was attracted by his out-and-out spokenness, 

 and gentle and Christianlike bearing ; and the more I have 

 come to know him, the more I esteem him — not as a rival, but 

 as a co-worker. (Mutual-admiration society ? Well, call it 

 what you like, if I admire my friends and am not afraid to say 

 so.) — Gleanings. 



HONEY IN THE BROOD-CHAMBER. 



I have been a careful observer for 25 years, and find that 

 when bees are at work best in sections there will be very little 

 honey in the body of the hive, if the hive has the right size of 

 brood-chamber, during the early or white honey harvest, 

 which is the one that the bee-keeper is the most anxious 

 about. But should some honey accumulate in the brood- 



combs, it would be a doubtful expedient to use the extractor 

 on the combs below, and I have reason to know that if any 

 one expects to secure a large yield of comb honey, and use the 

 extractor on the brood-combs at the same time, he will not 

 realize his expectations. After the bees get thoroughly at 

 work in the sections let the brood-combs alone, and you need 

 have no fears about the queen being crowded. If honey 

 accumulates in the combs before the bees are fairly started in 

 the sections, have no fears, for as soon as they go to work 

 above they will carry it all up into the sections and make 

 abundant room for the queen. — G. M. Doolittle, in American 

 Bee-Keeper. 



ALSIKE CLOVER AND BAS8W00D. 



The following from the discussions of the Ontario Bee- 

 Keepers' Association is clipped from the Canadian Bee Jour- 

 nal : 



"Mr. Pringle— You need not depend on the white clover 

 for honey ; but the Alsike I hardly ever knew to fail. I have 

 been sowing it for 25 years — every year more or less — and I 

 never knew it to fail to yield nectar. We ought to sow more 

 Alsike, and I believe, too, in planting basswood. I have 

 planted some hundreds myself, and they are nearly ready to 

 bloom. As for the second-growths, we need not depend much 

 on that. Most of the ground so occupied is cleared and put 

 under cultivation. 



"Mr. R. E. Jones related a circumstance to show that in 

 his own case the bees had passed right over a crop of Alsike 

 and took none of it. The bees came home with honey, but it 

 was not from the Alsike. 



" Mr. Gemmill could bear out the statement of Mr. Jones. 

 Much of the honey that was supposed to be Alsike was in 

 reality wild mustard." 



WIRE BOTTOM-BARS IN BROOD-FRAMF.S. 



We have recently received from Mr. S. M. Keeler, of 

 Chenango Bridge, N. Y., a sample brood-frame having the 

 bottom-bar made of wire. Mr. Keeler writes that for a long 

 time he has studied the question how to get bees to build 

 combs down to the bottoms of the frames, and now believes he 

 has solved it. The wire used is about 3-32 of an inch in 

 diameter ; the ends are turned up and driven into the ends of 

 the end-bars. By using these wire bottom-bars there is left 

 no hiding-place between the comb and bottom-bar for the 

 queen ; and the combs being built right down to and fastened 

 to the wire, will not sag. The combs of brood and honey can 

 be handled very much better and safer. — American Bee- 

 Keeper. 



EFFECT OF BAD WINTERING ON QUEENS. 



C. W. Post says in Canadian Bee Journal : "If a colony 

 winters badly, say has dysentry, I find it influences the work- 

 ing qualities of the queen. The colony pulls up slowly and 

 does not appear to exceed a certain strength. I believe from 

 what I have observed, what destroys the vitality and strength 

 of the working bees, impairs the usefulness of the queen. It 

 would be better to destroy that queen and replace her with 

 another, a young queen, if possible. Such a queen will pull 

 up a colony a long way ahead of the old. Many do not look 

 upon the matter in this light, I know, but my statement is 

 based on close observation." 



WOOD-BASE FOUNDATION. 



We notice some discussion going on about wood-base 

 foundation. If we mistake not very much, Mr. D. A. Jones 

 used that 15 or more years ago, and gave it up. We can tell 

 bee-keepers that it has been tried since with the following 

 results: In several instances, while the bees were working 

 and busy rearing brood, it was all right, and everything went 

 lovely; but when out of wholesome employment the bees be- 

 came very human and got into mischief ; they then set to 

 work to eat away and remove the wood. It is not likely that 

 we will get anything to take the place of beeswax in the build- 

 ing of comb in the hive. Wood in the base appears to be too 

 base a material for the bees. — Canadian Bee Journal. 



USELESS CONSUMERS. 



S. E Miller says in the Progressive Bee-Keeper : 



"Nowadays there is a great deal being said about useless 

 consumers (not tramps that roam over the country, and go 

 from house to house, asking for a bite to eat, but worker-bees 

 produced from eggs laid inside of about 40 days before the 

 honey harvest opens). This looks well on paper and sounds 

 well in theory, but will it hold good in actual practice ? Let 

 us say 21 days from the time the egg is laid until it hatches 

 out a perfect bee ; and add 16 days until It arrives at the age 



