718 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Kov. 7, 



combs of the second story not filled by the queen, I got ex- 

 tracted honey — much more in proportion than from colonies 

 having two storic-s and the queen confined wholly to the lower 

 hive by perforated metal. What was more, those three-story 

 hummers — for such lliey were for honey — never swarmed. 



In runninR for comb-honey the case is so different that I 

 think I should try to confine the queen to the lower story; and 

 whether, in the lii^ht of facts recently presented, I should 

 want that brood-'jest eight or ten, I can not say ; though on 

 account of the convenience of the eight-frame size I think 

 I should prefer that size for both comb and extracted. For 

 the latter it is large enough when tiered up ; and in the case 

 of the former it has. and probably will give forth its tons of 

 honey as before. — Editorial in Gleaning. 



Cax^adiat;) Beedon^^ 



Kipeiiing^ Honey in the Hive. 



Allen Pringle says honey should be allowed to ripen thor- 

 oughly ( in the hive if practicable), and it should never be put 

 on the market unripe, untidy, or unclean. Right you are ; 

 but will you please tell us, Mr. Pringle, under what circum- 

 stances it is impracticable to ripen it in the hive ? It is more 

 than doubtful if the necessary conditions for ripening honey 

 properly can be obtained anywhere else but in the hive. 



White and Alsike Clover. 



We have learned to our sorrow the last two or three sea- 

 sons that white clover may bloom without yielding nectar, but 

 Alsike seldom if ever fails. Why is this? Perhaps because 

 the roots of white clover do not penetrate far beneath the sur- 

 face, while those of Alsike go down deeper. Hence in dry 

 seasons the Alsike goes down to where there is moisture. Al- 

 so, if the surface soil is poor, as it is apt to be, the Alsike 

 pierces below what Mechi used to call " the agricultural pie- 

 crust" and finds plant-food. 



I am inclined to think poverty of soil is the great reason 

 why the white clover does uot yield so well as it used to do 

 some years back. That part of the flower which secretes the 

 nectar is the most delicate of the plant organs, and would nat- 

 urally be the first to suffer from any weakness in the soil. 



Strong Colonics. 



More than 30 years ago I read in " Langstroth on the 

 Honey-I5ee " this advice in capital letters : — " keep all col- 

 onies STRONG." It embodies the quintessence of practical 

 wisdom in regard to bee-keeping. A colony to be strong must 

 have plenty of stores as well as a large population of bees. If 

 the stores are scanty the queen will cease laying early in the 

 fall, the cousequences of which will be that the colony will be 

 weak in bees when winter sets in. If it survives, which is 

 doubtful, breeding will be delayed so late in the spring that 

 when the honey harvest sets in there will not be working-force 

 enough to gather it in during the brief period of its continu- 

 ance. There will be an arjny of consumers by the time the 

 harvest closes, but only a meagre supply of stores. Unless it 

 is fed liberally, it will dwindle away and perish. 



This will be the tragical history of a great many colonies 

 the present winter. All colonies that were weak last spring 

 are in a bad state now, unless they have been fed, and there 

 are comparatively few bee-keepers who have gumption enough 

 to take time by the forelock, and feed in the early fall— the 

 only time when it can be done with ease and comfort. 



All contrivances for feeding in winter are a vexation of 

 spirit. The very disturbance of bees at the season of the year 

 when they should be at repose is injurious to their welfare. 

 But a colony fed up not later than September will increase and 

 multiply till cold weather sets in, go into winter quarters 

 strong in young bees, commence breeding early, secure all the 

 honey that can be got in the fields, and give a good account of 

 itself even if the season is a poor oue. < 



To secure a strong colony it is not necessary to have a big 

 hive. The eight-frame Langstroth is a good size for practical 

 purposes. With honey enough to encourage late breeding in 

 the fall, the queen will start laying early in the spring, the 

 brood will occupy the space left vacant by the consumption of 



winter stores, and section-cases may be put on during fruit- 

 bloom. By giving storage-room as soon as it can be to advan- 

 tage, crowding is prevented, which I believe to be the chief 

 cause of swarming. With plenty of room for both bees and 

 honey, swarming may be greatly repressed if not prevented al- 

 together. 



-^m — ■ — ■ 



A Tribute to the ITIcmor}' of Father Liangstrolh. 



The great convention at Toronto is now a thing of the 

 past, but the remembrance of it will remain with me for a 

 long time to come. Although we traveled over 300 miles to 

 get there (at least some of us), we feel amply repaid for the 

 time and the money expended. 



The great pleasure of renewing old acquaintances, and 

 forming new ones, cannot be forgotten in a day or two ; to 

 meet with and converse with such men as was the venerable 

 Father Langstroth, is an honor; and then to be called upon 

 to mourn the loss of so dear a friend as he, within the space 

 of one short month, is sad indeed. But such is fate; the 

 young may die, but the old must. 



leather Langstroth's death will be mourned throughout 

 the length and breadthof this continent, and, in fact, through- 

 out beedom, not only where the English language is spoken, 

 but where many other languages are used. 



At our late convention, where many leading bee-keepers 

 met, our venerable Father shone like a diamond in the gloom 

 of night. The soft grip of his aged hand, the frank and 

 manly countenance of him whom we learned to honor long be- 

 fore we had the rare opportunity of seeing him ; his name is 

 a household word throughout America amongst bee-keepers, 

 and that name will be handed down from generation to gen- 

 eration. His kindly greeting of " God bless you," would be 

 enough alone to make thoughtful Christianity think deeper, 

 and say, " Ciwy all prejudice, and be brothers as we should 

 be." 



This world is in need of many more men of the Lang- 

 stroth stamp than we have. Many a one has the " Rev." pre- 

 fixed to his name, who is far from being as worthy of the title 

 as the late Rev. L. L. Langstroth. And now let us all profit 

 by the kind and good example set by him who is gone to reap 

 the reward of his labors. W. J. Brown. 



Chard, Out. 



^ I m — ■ 



A\>oiit Bees Eating in Winter Confinement. 



On page 655, is an experience with bees, etc., by Mr. Cot- 

 ton. The writer says: "When they return to the hive 

 (meaning the bees) they again fill themselves, and never eat 

 another drop after filling themselves until they again fly out, 

 and have another spell of diarrhea." 



Now, look here, Mr. Cotton, I will forward to your ad- 

 dress, postpaid, one red apple, two pieces of chalk, and a pig- 

 tail, if you can make that idea work in actual practice as well 

 as it looks in print. Just tell me how you train your bees to 

 abstain from eating when they cannot fly out. If that can be 

 done, I am sure it would be a saving of several dollars to me 

 each winter, as well as to others, in this country, where a 

 great many colonies are wintered on the summer stands. 



I find, in looking over my diary of the winter of 1894- 

 1895, that the bees were all prepared for winter on Nov. 2 — 

 all on the summer stands. November 15 they had a good 

 flight; Dec. 15 another; Feb. 27, a partial flight; on March 

 2 1 another partial one ; and on March 24 they had a good 

 cleansing flight, and frequent flights from that time on. Now 

 it will be seen that, according to Mr. Cotton's theory, the bees 

 only filled themselves five times from Nov. 15 to March 2-1. 

 And yet they consumed from 20 to 80 pounds of honey per 

 colony ! 1 was not aware that bees had such a tremendous 

 stomach capacity during the months of confinement ; but per- 

 haps Mr. Cotton can tell us how the whole thing works. 



To go back a little further than the winter just referred 

 to, I might say that during the winter of 1892-93 my bees 

 did not have a flight from Dec. 1 to March 15, and as nearly 

 as I can remember the honey consumption was about the same 

 as last winter, possibly not quite so large : and notwithstand- 

 ing the long confinement, the bees wintered fairly well, but 

 dwindled badly in early spring. 



Now, I am satisfied that Mr. Cotton's theory will not hold 

 good at Bethesda, but with his 50 years' experience he cer- 

 tainly ought to know what he is talking about. But is it not 

 possible that he is just a little mistaken ? It not, do please 

 let us into the secret, and you shall have the apples and pig- 

 tail. D. W. Heisk. 



Bethesda, Ont. 



