298 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



September 



completed in far less time, and ap- 

 proach nearer to perfection. On ac- 

 count of the larger numbers the 

 strong colony will forage earlier in 

 the forenoon and keep up work later 

 in the afternoon than the laggard. 

 They will go farther afield, thus fre- 

 quently obtaining richer forage 

 grounds, and they will make flights 

 to the bee pastures on days when the 

 other remains indoors. They will 

 manufacture wax quicker, build comb 

 more expeditiously, and seal stores 

 with less trouble and greater speed. 

 The weakling will worry carrying 

 propolis to glue up every corner in 

 case of draught, the powerful can 

 sustain internal heat without any 

 trouble. Then, as a matter of fact, 

 the strong actually consumes less 

 stores relatively, or at times actually, 

 than the small number. The cause is 

 patent. 



Don't Manipulate Out of Season- 

 Bees are best left alone for about 

 half the months in each year. Win- 

 ter is a season of repose in the hive 

 interior. Bees exist then in a state 

 of semi-hibernation. Every ounce of 

 calorie-generating food consumed as 

 a result of disturbance is not only, 

 needlessly wasted but it acts injuri- 

 ously, for the agitation begot in the 

 cluster tends to weaken and preju- 

 dicially affect the digestive system. 

 To restore the temperature of the 

 disrupted cluster, food must be con- 

 sumed, and the bees may be forced to 

 take untimely flights to void their 

 feces. In general, the caution applies 

 to too late examinations in autumn 

 and too early inspections in spring. 

 Any attempt at late feeding to reme- 

 dy defective stores or early stimula- 

 tion to start untimely breeding, works 

 evil and not good. "Jumping" the 

 frames, your equivalent of our 

 phrase "spreading the brood," in 

 early spring, causes mischief. Open- 

 ing hives when weather is cold or 

 when a chill wind is blowing, is a 

 blunder which may destroy brood 

 and drive workers from the supers. 

 Don't Buy Cheap Articles— Cheap 



and nasty are often synonymous 

 terms. A cheap second-hand hive 

 may ultimately turn out a dear one. 

 A novice should never be beguiled 

 into investing in colonies offered "at 

 an old song," because an odd sized 

 hive may be dear at any price, as 

 none of its parts are interchange- 

 able with other hives in your apiary. 

 No worse investment can be made 

 by the beginner in apiculture. Even 

 a parson may be guilty of thus be- 

 guiling the unwary. Purchase your 

 bees, if possible, from a near neigh- 

 bor, a man of probity, on whom you 

 can rely, or treat with an appliance 

 dealer of repute. Such men have to 

 obtain and sustain a good name. Be 

 prepared to give a good price for a 

 good article, the regular market price 

 being a safe guide. 



Don't Forget the Profits.— The la- 

 borer is worthy of his hire. Some of 

 my hives gave me profits of from £4 

 to £5 last season, and certainly the 

 pleasures and joys of beekeeping 

 were not lessened by the total draw- 

 ings being relatively high.. Honey 

 has been in abnormal demand. Profits 

 are considerably enhanced when 

 careful saving is practiced. Purchase 

 only what appliances are actually 

 necessary to run your apiary. Be 

 economical without being parsimoni- 

 ous. Encourage no waste. Collect and 

 preserve every particle of wax, and 

 at a convenient season melt it into 

 cakes. Discard no frame that is not 

 really defective, and don't throw 

 away pieces of comb, especially if 

 they are constructed of worker cells. 

 Special care should be taken of all 

 shallow surplus combs from year to 

 year, and of all brood frames not 

 covered by the bees during the win- 

 ter. In countless ways similar care 

 may be given to tools and appliances, 

 thus doubling, it may be their total 

 existence, thereby raising the balance 

 on the credit side at the conclusion 

 of each honey season. 



Don't Value Apiculture for Profits 

 Alone.— M. Maeterlinck practically 

 but graphically strikes the right key- 



Fig. 6. The Spanish bayonet is a showy plant of tropical apt 



note in regard to the pleasures of 

 beekeeping: "For one who has 

 known, studied and loved bees, a 

 summer without them would be like 

 one without birds and flowers." The 

 writer felt the force of this the sea- 

 son when disease wiped out his api- 

 ary. At last a happy thought dawned 

 on him, that if the mountain could 

 not come to Mahomet, he could go 

 to it. Perforce, as if drawn by a 

 lodestone, he was drawn to the bees, 

 and in no other season were so many 

 outside apiaries visited. The study 

 of the bee itself, its customs, habits, 

 government, prescience, wisdom; its 

 anatomy and physiology, form a most 

 delightful pastime, and is well worth 

 the interest and devotion of even the 

 beeman to whom honey getting 

 means bread and butter. The joys 

 of beekeeping are manifold. What 

 can be more delightful than watch- 

 ing the wild gambols of a first flight 

 in spring, the brilliant evolutions of 

 a swarm, the observation of multi- 

 tudes of bees carrying in all colors >..f 

 pollen, the steady stream of workers 

 bringing home heavy loads of the 

 nectar which later is converted int > 

 sweet, luscious honey? 



Don't Keep Bees Without th<_ 

 Journal. — It should be a guide, phil- 

 osopher and friend to everyone who 

 wants to keep up with all that is 

 latest and best in apiculture. Indeed, 

 I feel the veteran reads it as diligent 

 ly as the novice, and derives even 

 more pleasure from its perusal. In 

 countless ways it helps lame dogs 

 over stiles. Its news of beedom must 

 be invaluable to all. Dr. Miller's 

 Answers alone are worth the actual 

 cost of each issue. The editor's re- 

 views, summaries, criticisms and arti- 

 cles, short or long, are all of great 

 excellence. Many years ago it was 

 known as the "Old Reliable," and this 

 descriptive sub-title is as appropriate 

 today as ever it was. Each succes- 

 sive year it renews its youth. Out- 

 side it is a thing of beauty; inside it 

 is a joy forever. To the novice I 

 would advise that he should make a 

 thorough study of the articles named 

 in the index every December,\and de- 

 vote any spare winter evenings to a 

 re-perusal of those most interesting 

 to him. The results must make him 

 a better beekeeper. Let him read, 

 meditate and inwardly digest ; then 

 his labor in future should prove 

 lighter and his results more profit- 

 able, because of the acquired knowl- 

 edge gleaned from wiser heads than 

 his own. 



Don't Forget a Good Text Book. — 

 Even before investing in hives or 

 bees the man meditating a start in 

 apiculture should purchase one or 

 more good bee books. The writer, 

 after reading almost every work on 

 bees, ancient or modern, is inclined 

 l<i place "Langstroth on the Honey- 

 bee," Twentieth Century edition, and 

 Root's latest issue of the "A B I and 

 X V Z" amongst the first half dozen. 

 From the time of Virgil and Aristo- 

 tle, that is before the Christian era, 

 men have studied bees and written 

 bee books. From then on there has 

 been a long succession of more .or 

 less brilliant writers, and we of this 



