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AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



RING, HaF»F»Y SKILLS. 



A'mg, happy bells of Easter time ! 

 The world is glad to hear your chime ; 

 Across wide fields of melting snow 

 The winds of Summer softly blow, 

 And birds and streams repeat the chime 

 Of Easter time. 



Ring, happy bells of Easter time ! 

 The world takes up your chant sublime : 

 "The Lord is risen ?" The night of fear 

 Has passed, away, and heaven draws near ; 

 We breathe the air of that blest clime, 

 At Easter time. 



Ring, happy bells of Easter time ! 

 Our happy hearts give back your chime ! 

 The Lord is risen ! We die no more ! 

 He opens wide the heavenly door ; 

 He meets us, while to Him we climb, 

 At Easter time. 



—Lucy Larcom. 



Queries ajid Replies. 



Extractefl-HoDey and Beeswax, 



Query 758. — In producing extracted- 

 noney with old combs, do not the bees 

 secrete more wax than they can use with 

 profit ? In other words, is not some of 

 the wax wasted ? — New Jersey. 



I think not, — G. L. Tinker. 



I do not believe it. — Eugene Secor. 



I do not think that they do.— J. P. H. 

 Brown. 



Perhaps — to a limited extent. — Mrs. 

 li. Harrison. 



I have seen no evidence that they do. 

 — R. L. Taylor. 



I have never observed that wax was 

 secreted beyond the wants of the colony. 

 — M. Mahin. 



I am not troubled in that way, and 

 have no wax wasted in using old combs. 

 — H. D. Cutting. 



This is a mooted question. I will ven- 

 ture this answer: None of consequence. 

 — J. M. Hambaugh. 



Possibly ; but the gain in honey will 

 be so much greater, that it is better to 

 use them. — J. E. Pond. 



I do not think so. I believe this waste 

 of wax imaginary. Bees secrete wax 

 when they need it. — A. J. Cook. 



That question is in dispute, and just at 

 present the " Nos " seem to have the best 

 end of the discussion. — James Heddon. 



We think that there is no waste. Some- 

 times our bees produce more than a 

 pound of wax per hive to cap the honey 

 to be extracted. — Dadant & Son. 



My bees do not secrete wax unless 

 they need it. The idea that bees have to 

 make wax, whether they want to or not, 

 is a humbug, I believe. — A. B. Mason. 



I do not know. Some say they do, 

 but I doubt if much is wasted in that 

 way. If it is, I think you will find the 

 scales lying at the entrance. — C. C. 

 Miller. 



I think so, and for this reason I allow 

 the bees to build some comb, enough to 

 keep the number good, at least; for some 

 of our combs are apt to get injured and 

 become poor each year. — G. M. Doo- 



LITTLE. 



I think not. The bees seem to have 

 the power to produce wax only when 

 actually needed. If this was not so, why 

 do bees not continue to build comb dur- 

 ing warm weather after the honey flow 

 is over. — C. H. Dibbern. 



I have reasons to believe that bees 

 secrete wax involuntarily when gather- 

 ing honey, but in my opinion the loss on 

 that account is a mere imaginary 

 deduction. The proof of the pudding is 

 said to be in the eating. If you will give 

 one colony of bees a good set of drawn- 

 combs, to be filled for the extractor, and 

 give just as good a colony a set of empty 

 frames with starters only, for the same 

 purpose, at the beginning of the honey 

 flow, if you do not find out which side of 

 your bread the butter is on — and the 

 lioney, too — your case will differ widely 

 from all my past experience. — G. W. 

 Demaree. 



As bees only produce wax when needed, 

 the chance for waste is infinitesmally 

 small. — The Editor. 



It Pays to Use Comb Foundation. 



Always use comb foundation ; it is a 

 great saving to the bees, and insures 

 perfectly straight combs. Many persons 

 claim it to be too expensive. Let us see: 

 It is estimated that it takes 12 pounds 

 of honey to make one pound of comb ; 

 honey is wortli at least 10 cents per 

 pound in liquid form, which makes each 

 pound of comb cost $1.20, besides the 

 work of the bees in making. A pound 

 of surplus foundation costs about 60 

 cents, or one-half saved. — 0. J. Farmer. 



