438 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



now and then, with the compliments 

 of the bee-ljeeper, has a wonderful 

 effect upon a neighbor's idea of the an- 

 noyance of an apiary. If we keep the 

 machinery of society well oiled with 



gentle words and kind deeds, we will 

 ave very little trouble. 



This anti-bee epidemic will run its 

 course. People will see the folly of 

 making senseless war against one of 

 the established industries of the 

 country, and will wisely conclude to 

 endure a little temporary inconven- 

 ience now and then, for the general 

 good, just as they do in regard to 

 many other things. 



Bluffton.d Ind. 



For tlie Amertcan Bee Jonmal 



An Experiment witli Bees and drapes. 



grown, which could not be success- 

 fully matured without the aid of the 

 honey-bees. Let us hear from the 

 opposing parties, with such facts as 

 are true, and not hear-say evidence, 

 which is of no value in court, and not 

 admissible. 

 Battle Ground,*o Ind. 



J. M. HICKS. 



Vermont Baptist. 



ASwarmofBe's. 



I have made many experiments and 

 tests during the last 15 years, at my 

 home apiary, which consists of about 

 7^ acres of ground, and a bee-house 

 100 feet long in which I keep my bees 

 on a platform properly constructed 

 for the stands, so that the bees can at 

 all times in the working season go 

 and return at will. As a means of 

 protection from the forenoon sun, I 

 have arranged grape-vines properly 

 planted 15 feet apart at each front 



Eost, so they are thus supported and 

 ranch out each way on the front of 

 the bee-house, furnishing a magnih- 

 cent shade tor the bee-hives, as well 

 as raising plenty of the finest of 

 grapes each year. 



The grapes are often left remaining 

 on the vines quite late in the fall, and 

 not a grape have 1 ever discovered as 

 yet being destroyed by the bees. 

 Although some seasons have been 

 very unpropitious tor honey, causing 

 me to feed several colonies that were 

 quite short of winter stores, yet not a 

 grape have I ever noticed being 

 punctured or harmed by the bees ; 

 and this, notwithstanding many 

 times the vines would hang very near 

 the hives, with plenty of the ripe 

 grapes on them. 



This howl against the bees harming 

 ripe grapes, must surely come from 

 those who are not posted, or on ac- 

 count of natural hatred, having con- 

 cluded to make war on the bees. It 

 seems to me that if any fair-minded 

 and unprejudiced fruit-grower would 

 take the lime and pains to investigate 

 the subject as it should be, he could 

 without muchdifluculty learn the facts 

 as stated above, and not condemn and 

 charge the honey-bee with such false 

 accusations as being guilty of destroy- 

 ing fruits of any kind while growing 

 or ripening on the vines of trees. 

 While, on the other hand, there is so 

 much of proof in favor of the bees, as 

 being of great value inbringing about 

 proper and much-needed fertilization 

 m many of the tiuest grown fruits of 

 all parts of the United States, as well 

 as in all Europe. 



It has been practically demonstrated 

 that bees are of great benefit in 

 bringing about a proper fertilization 

 in many of the fruits and berries 



J. B. LEE. 



Be quiet, more ready to heartban to speak ; 



Be active, true riches unceasintjly seelt : 



Be patient, the time of Providence endure ; 



Be liumble, and so sliall your path be secure ; 



Be hopeful, and never give way to despair ; 



Be loving, and show that real heroes you are ; 



Be gentle, and prove your wisdom is divine ; 



Be merciful, always to pity incline ; 



Be gracious, more willing to give than receive ; 



Be just, as you would not have others deceive ; 



Be upright, and thus your profession adorn ; 



Be kind, and treat no fellow creature with scorn ; 



Be simple, from sophistry ever abstain ; 



Be diligent, if you would substance obtain ; 



Be circumspect, think how your conduct is eyed ; 



Be meek, and beware of presumption and pride ; 



Be lowly in heart for the Savior was so ; 



Be long-sutfering, like Him when he so-journed 



below ; 

 Be not unbelieving, but trust and adore ; 

 And Heaven BE with you henceforth evermore. 

 Fairhaven, Vt. 



For tlie American Bee JouraaL 



The Qneen-ExclndinE Honey-Boarils, 



W. Z. HUTCHINSON. 



When I began producing comb 

 honey the tirst " snag " I ran against 

 was brood in the sections. So long as 

 the sections were over an old-estab- 

 lished brood-nest filled with comb, 

 there was no trouble, but when I be- 

 gan hiving swarms in a contracted 

 brood nest, and transferring the sec- 

 tions from the old to the new hive, 

 then the " circus " began. 



I had no metal queen-excluding 

 honey-boards, and something had to be 

 done at once. I took one of Mr. Hed- 

 don's slatted honey-boards, and tacked 

 a strip of tin lengthwise of each slat, 

 letting the tiu project beyond the edge 

 of the slat until it lacked 5 32 of an 

 inch of reaching the adjoining slat. 

 This was, I believe, the first com- 

 bined wood-and-metal queen-excluder 

 ever made. Five years ago I made 

 several of these ; they are still in use, 

 and answer every purpose. 



The strips of tin were tacked to the 

 under side of the honey-board. It 

 was considerable work to tack on the 

 strips of tin and have the spaces suf- 

 ficiently exact, so I tried making 

 honey-boards of strips of wood % of 

 an inch in width, placed 5 32 ot an 

 inch apart. These worked well when 

 new, but the bees soon tilled the 

 spaces with wax. 



Next I tried perforating a very thin 

 board with a saw, cutting a kerf ex- 

 actly 5-32 of an inch. These work 

 quite well, and I have about fifty of 

 them that have been in use three 

 years. The only objectionable fea- 

 ture is that the openings must be 

 cleaned . out each spring. If wood 

 were of sufficient strength so that it 

 might be made as thin as the zinc 

 that is used, it is possible that it 



might be made to answer the purpose 

 as well. I am not certain that it is 

 the thinness of thu metal tbat induce* 

 the bees to refrain from tilling the 

 openings with wax ; possibly the 

 character of the material has as much 

 to do with this as has its thinness. 



During the past two years I have 

 been using the combined wood and- 

 zinc honey-board, as first invented, I 

 believe, by Dr. Tinker. They are par 

 excellence ; I ask for nothing better. I 

 have sometimes thought that the per- 

 forated wood might be made to an- 

 swer if the edges of the openings were 

 chamfered so as to make the edges of 

 the wood quite thin. I have not ad- 

 vanced beyond the " thinking stage " 

 in this matter. The only advantage 

 would be the cheapness. 



In hiving swarms in hives with a 

 contracted brood-nest, and using 

 frames with starters only— a method 

 which many bee-keepers are now be- 

 ginning to use— a queen-excluding- 

 honey-board is a necessity. Had Mr. 

 Cornell used such a honey-board he 

 would not have been troubled with 

 brood and pollen in the sections. He 

 also used a brood-nest that was too 

 much contracted ; this, with the ab- 

 sence of a queen-excluder, absolutely 

 forced the queen and pollen into the 

 sections. 



I have always advised giving the 

 bees a brood-nest having a capacity 

 of not less than five Langstroth 

 combs. Mr. Corneil used a brood- 

 nest having a capacity of only four 

 combs of 160 square inches each. One 

 of these combs contained a trifle more 

 than a Langstroth frame ; about 5 

 square inches more than a Simplicity- 

 Langstroth frame. I do not wonder 

 that he was troubled by the bees 

 swarming out. I have yet to find one 

 bee-keeper who has followed my 

 method and failed. I have known 

 quite a number who failed when they 

 thought they were following my in- 

 structions ; but, upon questioning 

 them closely I have always found that 

 they had omitted some important fac- 

 tor, or added some disiurbing ele- 

 ment. 



Last winter, at the Michigan State 

 Convention, one gentleman said that 

 he had followed my method, and the 

 bees built all drone-comb ; but, upon 

 cross-examination, it was found that 

 he had taken some combs from a full 

 colony and inserted empty frames in 

 their places ; something that I have 

 never recommended. It was to get 

 the matter all together, and in such 

 form that I could not be misunderstood^ 

 that my little book was written ; and 

 if Mr. Corneil will closely follow the 

 instructions there given, I feel sure 

 that he will meet with success. 



Mr. C. intimates that he lost con- 

 siderable by following my advice. My 

 advice would be not to strike out too 

 heavily at first in any new direction. 

 In fact, the closing words of my little 

 book are: "And let those who, for 

 the first time, adopt the methods, 

 herein advised, do so upon no larger 

 scale than that upon which they can 

 afford to meet failure ; and, if failure 

 comes, let them report it, together 

 with the accompanying circumstances, 

 and all will find me ever ready to ex- 



