730 



T«® mmmmi^mm mmm j©^MifMi*. 



happy as sand-boys, wet to the skin as 

 they were, bringing home a dozen 

 hives from which they had not taken a 

 single pound of honey during either 

 clover or heather harvest — on tlie con- 

 trarj', they had been forced to feed the 

 bees. England is not in danger (not 

 even of a decline in bee-keeping) so 

 long as we have hearts of this mettle 

 in our midst. Truly, nothing can 

 damp such ardor, and a mishap only 

 makes them " thankful it's no worse," 

 sheer animal nerve carries them 

 through breakers into the smooth 

 waters of contentment. 



Our warmest sympathy is offered to 

 those in the trade who have pluckily 

 launched out in the effort to live by 

 combining bee-keeping with the mak- 

 ing of appliances used in the craft. 

 These have had blows with a two- 

 edged sword : — their own bees have 

 earned little or nothing, and there has 

 been very little demand for hives, sec- 

 tions, extractors, and other requisites 

 of the bee-garden. It would be, we 

 believe, a recompense to the trade, if 

 those who have the means would, next 

 season, purchase, instead of making 

 for themselves, such articles as thej* 

 can. The goods are now-a-days very 

 cheap and well made ; competition has 

 given us many things at low rates, so 

 that it would pay us in the long run to 

 keep the competitors in the field until 

 brighter days come, as come thej- 

 must, when they and we may be re- 

 paid for the privations and pinches 

 one has to put up with in such a year 

 as 1888. 



Ttae Pa«t and Future. 



After such a summer (?) as the bees 

 have passed through, it behooves ever}' 

 bee-keeper to see that a disastrous sea- 

 son is not followed by an utter col- 

 lapse of his army of workers — workers 

 who, unfortunately, have not had the 

 opportunity to store either for their 

 masters or themselves. 



Already we hear of many colonies 

 dying of stanation, and not a few 

 skeppists declare their intention of 

 feeding no more, as they have already 

 fed all the summer in the hope of a 

 turn for the better, and now the bees 

 must go to the wall. Of course this is 

 only false economj' with sugar at pres- 

 ent rates. Take, for instance, a com- 

 mon sleep, well stocked with bees, and 

 hardly an ounce of food. Rather than 

 let them perish, suppose we give them 

 15 pounds of syrup, which, at the out- 

 side, will cost not more three shillings. 

 With a fair j^rospect of wintering, the 

 following season such colony will be 

 worth at least 15 shillings, without 

 counting its swarm, and almost certain 

 crop of iionej'. Is there any question 

 about feeding being a good investment? 



The oldest bee-keepers do not re- 

 member such a honeyless season as we 



have just experienced, and it is more 

 than probable that the present genera- 

 tion may not see another such. Apiaries 

 of fifty to one hundred colonies have 

 not given a sin-plus in total of one 

 hundred pounds ; skeps have been 

 '•taken up" by the score, and not a 

 half-a-dozen pounds of honey have been 

 secured. Many bee-keepers have had 

 to feed through the summer, while it 

 has been the exception to find some 

 favored locality or apiary where the 

 bees have managed to get a living all 

 the time. Such we know of where a 

 small surplus has been given, and 

 some have even stored themselves for 

 winter during the warm spell of 

 weather experienced in September. 



The past summer has been remark- 

 able in that not a single honej'-glut 

 occurred while the main crops were 

 in bloom. We have, of course, ex- 

 perienced poor seasons, but with the 

 present exception we do not ourselves 

 remember when there was not at least 

 one honey-glut, whatever the prevail- 

 ing weather may have been. 



i:\FI>UEI\CE. 



Written for the American Bee Journal 

 BY EUGENE SECOK. 



When the dark Lethean waters, 

 And the silent mists of ages. 

 O'er our memories thickly yathir. 

 In the stilly realm of Death-land ;— 

 When no more our names shall quiver 

 On the lips of friend or kindn d, 

 Whether good or whether evil 

 We have taught by our example, 

 It shall live— it dieth never. 

 When decay earth's classic structures, 

 When their marble pillars molder. 

 Then the influence we've exerted 

 On the lives of fellow mortals, 

 May retain its wonted vigor- 

 May its proper fruit be j ieldiag. 

 Forest City, Iowa. 



THE SOUTH. 



Hints about Seasonable Work 

 in the Fall. 



Written for the Southern Cultivator 



BY J. M. JENKINS. 



This month, in the South, is the 

 proper time to see that all colonies 

 have plenty of stores to take them 

 through the winter. If any are short 

 of honey in the brood-nest, we can 

 probably find others that have more 

 than they need for their own use, and 

 we can take' one or more frames from 

 them and give to those that have not 

 enough for winter. 



As to how much honey is needed to 

 winter a colonj* depends upon circum- 

 stances, mainly upon the size of the 

 colony. It is best to be on the safe 

 side, and allow them more than 

 enough. I give my bees 20 to 30 



pounds per colony. This weight is 

 guessed at bj' estimating the number 

 of frames full of honey in tire brood- 

 nest, and that a full Simplicitj- brood- 

 frame will average five pounds ; if we 

 are short of honey, and have to feed, 

 we can use extracted honey or sugar 

 syrup for this purpose. The latter is 

 easily prepared bj' pouring boiling 

 water on twice its weight of cheap 

 sugar. It is not necessary to cook it. 



In the North, where bees are con- 

 fined for months, it is necessary to use 

 the best and purest sugar. In the 

 South, where they fly nearly every fair 

 daj- in the year, they are safe with any 

 food they will eat. 



In this locality, and in many others 

 in the South, the "bitter weed" that 

 spoils the milk in the spring, abounds 

 and j-ields honey from about the first 

 of August until frost, and although the 

 honey is too bitter to eat, it answers 

 admirably for our bees to live on 

 through the winter. As it does not 

 bloom before the beginning of August, 

 we can make it a point to take all the 

 honey from them before it blooms, and 

 let them fill up their brood-frames with 

 this bitter honej". 



Many different feeders have been 

 invented, some of which are compli- 

 cated and costly, but I have found the 

 " Simplicity feeder " sufficient for all 

 purposes— its cost is only five cents. 

 The little wooden butter plates used 

 bj' retail grocers, are as good as any- 

 thing, perhaps, and can be had for 

 nearly nothing. To use these feeders 

 we place them in the upper story, 

 after the sections have been removed, 

 directly on the brood-frames ; put 

 enough of them in a hive to hold 5 or 

 10 pounds of feed. Place the feeder in 

 position while empty, and with a 

 sprinkling pot with the sprinkler re- 

 moved, or a coffee-pot, pour the feed 

 into the feeder, and cover all with the 

 enameled sheet or quilt used for cover- 

 ing the frames. This retains the heat 

 of the hive, and is essential as the bees 

 would not leave their cluster in cool 

 weather to carry the food below. 



With an assistant to handle hive 

 covers, it is very little trouble to feed 

 in this way. The best time to feed is 

 after sundown, so as to avoid robbers. 

 Be careful to spill no feed — not a drop 

 — outside or on the hives, or leave any 

 exposed anywhere that a robber may 

 get a taste the following day. Be sure 

 that no hive has a crack or other open- 

 ing except the entrance that will ad- 

 mit a bee, and the entrance had better 

 be contracted to a small one, especially 

 if the colony be not strong. 



Bear in mind that you cannot be too 

 careful while feeding, for if robbing is 

 commenced you may have trouble. 



Wetumpka, Ala. 



